The Weasleys and Potters Year One: The Wooden Birds
by mocothecat4218
Summary: The Weasley and Potter kids are excited for another year at Hogwarts. However, no one can forget Louis Weasley's mysterious murder over the summer, least of all his two sisters, Victoire and Dominique. As the year progresses, they learn that his murder is only the first in a series of unexplained attacks-the cousins will have to band together to protect their family. Next Gen fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my first Harry Potter story! **

**For quick reference, in my story, Albus, Rose, and Roxanne, and Louis are all 11, James and Fred are both 12, Dominique is thirteen, Victoire is fourteen, and Teddy is fifteen. The Weasley cousins that are too young to go to Hogwarts yet are Molly, age 10; her sister Lucy, age 8; and Hugo, age 9. Lily Potter, younger sister to Albus and James, is 9. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 1- Dominique

The picture is ten years old now and is covered with a thin film of dust, garnered from years of sitting on top of the fireplace mantel. It shows a little boy with curly blonde hair propped up on a mountain of pillows, next to two girls who have to be his sisters. One girl has blonde hair almost identical to her brother's. She has flawless skin, bright blue eyes, and the biggest dimples I've ever seen. That's Victoire, my perfect older sister. Of course, she's too nice to admit that she's perfect, but she is. Everyone knows that.

Next is a little girl with reddish-blonde hair that's really, really frizzy. To call it a hot mess would be an understatement. Her cheeks are too red and she has a spot of chocolate on the side of her chin. That little girl is me, Dominique. Everyone calls me Dom, though. I'm the one piece in my perfect family that doesn't fit-and the only child that inherited my dad's red hair. Unlike Victoire, I can never get my hair to lie still, even when I apply mounds and mounds of hair creams and gels. Also unlike my older sister, I'm not perfect. Not by a long shot.

Finally, there's a little boy with blonde hair and an angelic face. It's clear that he and Victoire are related. They look like part of a set, like they belong together.

The three kids are all laughing at something off camera. The little boy laughs so hard that he spits up all over himself, making his sisters laugh even harder. That boy is Louis Weasley-my sweet, adorable little brother.

He's now dead.

This picture is kept over the fireplace, next to a few books, board games, and clothes-a reminder of a life that ended way too soon.

"Dom! Time to go!" Vic called from upstairs, jolting me out of my reverie.

I sighed and picked up my trunk. The Hogwarts Express was leaving in an hour to take my sister and I back to school, and we were way behind. We hadn't even left the house yet, and would be lucky if we made it in time. I had to say my good-byes now, if I was going to at all.

"Bye Louis." I said as I left the room, trailing one finger across the glass. It left a small trail in the dust. In the picture, the three kids laughed on, oblivious, lost in their own world of fun that would never end.

Platform 9 3/4 was crowded with students and their families. Some kids were already boarding the train, while some hung out of windows to talk to their teary eyed mothers and stoic fathers. I was almost run over by a boy commandeering a trolley, and I guessed that he was late. I knew what that felt like. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever be early, for a change. It was easy to pick out my relatives, though. There's a huge group of us-and most of us have red hair.

Seven of us, out of my cousins, Victoire, and I, were going to Hogwarts this year. Eight, if you count Teddy, which we all do, even though he isn't technically family. He was a fifth year, Vic was a fourth year, I was a third year, Fred and James were second years, and Roxanne, Rose, and Albus were first years. The first years were suspiciously quiet. I remembered the feeling well from my own experience: a weird mix of nervousness and excitement, like your stomach is tying itself in knots. If Louis was still alive, this would be his first year, too. He'd undoubtedly be feeling the same way, even though inside he'd be really, really excited. Ever since he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter last June, he'd been talking nonstop about the Sorting, his new wand, what he thought the school would be like, and even his new pet owl, Hamlet. I blinked away tears.

"Is something wrong, Dom?" Teddy asked, coming up behind me.

"No."

"Are you missing Louis?"

Teddy knows me too well, having known me my entire life. I slowly nodded, feeling a tear trace its way down my cheek. He hugged me fiercely for a minute. "It's all right. He's at peace now." he said. I nodded again, still not trusting myself to speak.

Just then, the whistle sounded, and we hurried to board the train. Teddy squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

We all crowded into one compartment, everyone talking loudly and swapping stories. It was easy to get lost in the uproar and happiness, but I still felt a little hole where Louis should have been, playing Wizard Chess with Albus or chatting casually about current events with Rose. However, I soon began to enjoy myself as we traveled through the beautiful English and then Scottish countryside, talking, laughing, and snacking on candy from the trolley.

As we got closer, Vic and I headed to the back of the train to change into our robes. "Are you excited?" my sister asked me. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. She loves anything school related.

I nodded. "Yeah, I am." In fact, I was getting more excited with each passing minute.

"Do you think this year will be…interesting?"

I knew exactly what she meant. When my parents had gone to school, they'd had really cool adventures-every year. This was my third year, and I was still waiting for something extraordinary or noteworthy to happen to me-an experience that I could pass on to my kids as something of a bedtime legend. "Yeah, I think so."

"Me too. Something's going to happen this year. I can feel it, if you can believe that."

"So do I." We shared a smile and went back to the compartment so the first years could take their turns getting changed.

Little did we know just how exciting this year was really going to get.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Rose

It was time for the event that I'd been both looking forward to and dreading for almost a full year: the Sorting. I walked down the central aisle of the Great Hall, trying to take in all the sights as I did so: the many candles hanging from the ceiling, the four long tables crowded with students, and the ghosts that sometimes flew through the walls to converse with kids.

Albus went first. The Sorting Hat took a while to decide and stayed quiet for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, he said the last thing anyone expected him to say: "Slytherin!"

There was a long silence in the room. No one really knew what to do or what to say. Finally, I started to clap and everyone joined in, albeit very slowly. Albus's face was bright read as he took a seat at the Slytherin table and my heart went out to him. I wondered what his parents would think. I couldn't think about it much though, because my turn came soon after. I was Sorted into Gryffindor, and so was Roxanne. So was Scorpius Malfoy, for that matter. This surprised me. Dad had told me a lot of stories about Scorpius's father, Draco Malfoy: basically the book definition of a pureblood Slytherin. I was excited though. This year was going to be great, especially if Roxanne was in my house, too.

The first two months passed in a blur of new faces, new classes, and lots and lots of homework. I had a lot of fun, made some new friends, and learned a ton. Hogwarts was an amazing school-way better than the muggle elementary school I'd been enrolled in the year before-but it didn't seem like it would be a year full of 'unending adventure' like my parents' had been. Mum would have told me that this made me extremely lucky, but for me it was boring. No dogs with three heads, no dementors, no Triwizard Tournament, no evil teachers, and no Death Eaters. It was a normal year.

At least it was until Vic woke Roxanne and me up at two in the morning the week before Halloween.

"Uhh…what is it?" I asked, pulling a pillow over my head to muffle the sudden rush of light and sound.

My cousin looked scared, and her face was pale and ashen. Something was terribly wrong. I immediately forced myself to wake up. "Meet me in the Gryffindor common room. Hurry!" she instructed.

We ran downstairs as fast as we could . Our other relatives were assembled around the fire, seated on couches and chairs. They all looked nervous and a little scared. Everyone was there, even Dom and Vic, who are Ravenclaws, and Albus.

"There has…been an attack." Teddy said in a rush. He sounded cool and confident, but I could tell that he was extremely shaken up. My blood ran cold. It takes a lot to rattle Teddy Lupin.

"On who?" Albus asked, looking scared. I knew we were thinking of our siblings and cousins who were too young to go to Hogwarts this year.

"Lily. She was found in her bed, unmoving. The healers think she might have been cursed. Harry and Ginny transferred her to St. Mungo's, but she doesn't seem to be harmed in any way. Headmistress McGonagall has given us all permission to go and see her." Teddy was holding an old book that seemed to be faintly glowing-a Portkey. "Let's go." We all grabbed on. Soon enough, I felt myself being yanked away as the Portkey left, bringing us to the wizarding world's finest hospital.

The next thing I knew, we were standing in the front reception room of St. Mungo's. Witches and wizards bustled around, talking to the receptionist, reading the Daily Prophet around a blazing fireplace, or just standing around waiting for their turn at the desk. Some were missing appendages (or had extra ones), were croaking like frogs, or were flying in circles high above us. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur were talking to a healer and waved us over when they saw us. Bill looked worried, and Fleur's eyes were red, like she'd been crying. My heart beat double time and Albus swallowed hard, slipping his hand into mine. James came over to stand by us, trying to look tough but obviously worried. I knew I'd look the same way if it was Hugo that had been attacked.

"She's going to be all right." Bill said. "It's strange. Harry went to check on Lily just before he went to bed. Someone was trying to strangle her, but when the figure saw Harry, whoever it was fled. Harry didn't see the figure's height, coloring, or anything that could help us identify him. Lily is really shaken up. She'll be okay, though. That's something to be grateful for at least." He paused before adding "We're all shaken up right now." quietly.

Every great once in a while, our family gets a threat from some dark wizard, but usually it's just empty words. Except for Louis's murder over the summer. However, Uncle Harry had followed up every lead he could think of and had eventually arrested some old Death Eaters. We'd thought that the case was locked down. This new attack was a huge blow to us-it reminded the family that we were never fully safe.

In silence, we trooped up the stairs to Lily's room. Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey, Molly, Lucy, Uncle Charlie, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, and Andromeda Tonks (Teddy's grandmother) were all waiting outside. Bill gently nudged the eight of us forward and we went inside. "She's been asking for you."

Lily was sitting up in bed, surrounded by Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Mum, Dad, and Hugo. Her eyes were wide and she looked terrified. Harry was trying to get her to answer some questions. "Are you sure you didn't see who it was? Do you remember anything that could help us discover who did this to you?" She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Just then, Mum saw me and immediately rushed to hug me. For once, I didn't try to squirm away. "We were so worried."

"I'm fine. I came as soon as I could." I turned to Lily. "How're you feeling, Lily Bee?"

"All right." she said, trying to smile and failing.

Just then, James and Albus jumped onto the bed next to her. "How are you doing?" James asked, concerned. Albus just hugged his sister tightly.

"Okay." Lily said, relaxing a little.

"Does anything hurt?"

"No."

"Good."

Just then, Uncle Harry turned to Dad. "Please tell everyone in the hallway to come inside. Everyone should hear this." Dad nodded and left. One by one, the other relatives trickled in, until we were all standing in the room. It was a little crowded, but for once it didn't bother me. I wanted to be close to my family right now.

Harry stood up and glanced around at the assembled family members, making eye contact with each of us. His face was grave and serious. "It appears our family is under threat." He began to pace, assuming his role as an Auror. "I would advise that we use more caution from now on. Make sure all doors and windows are locked, and trust no one."

I shivered. There's a big difference between threats and murder attempts. We stayed at the hospital for the rest of the day, talking in low voices in small clumps of people. By the time we had to go back to Hogwarts, we were all wound up and nervous. We had good reason to be, too.

After all, if whoever had done this tried once and almost succeeded, who was to say they wouldn't try again?

Anyone could be next.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did, I probably wouldn't be publishing my stories on a website specifically for fanfiction. **

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Chapter 3-Victoire

"Miss Weasley, please tell us the three uses of frog tongues in traditional potion making."

I snapped my head up and tried to look alert. In reality, I felt like I could easily go to sleep in the middle of class. "Um..to provide longevity, to strengthen the potion, and…" I trailed off. "I forget the last one."

Professor Scamander, our Potions master, shook his head despairingly. "You forgot its potency as a purificator. Please try to stay with us, Victoire."

I blushed, embarrassed. I hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, and it hadn't really been my fault. When my sister and I had finally parted ways in the Ravenclaw common room, it had been a good while after midnight. I'd tossed and turned for the remainder of the night, unable to sleep and worried about Dom, asleep in the third year girls' dormitory down the hall. If the assailant had tried to get Lily, what if he-or she-tried to go after Dom next? Even though I knew we were in one of the safest places in England we could be, I was still nervous.

For the rest of Potions, I tried to focus, I really did. Unfortunately, I almost fell asleep in my Strengthening Solution. It was a relief when Professor Scamander said that we could go.

"Vic, I'd like to talk to you for a minute after class. It won't take long."

Dang it.

I waited helplessly while my other classmates filed out. Some of my friends shot me sympathetic glances, but I grimaced in return. They couldn't help me now. Finally, I was alone in the room except for our teacher and 25 bubbling cauldrons of potions.

Scamander started stacking trays of newt eyes. "I heard about what happened last night. Obviously, you didn't get much sleep, and no one can blame you for that. I suggest that you take the rest of the afternoon off and get some rest. I will inform your other teachers that you will being missing classes, and your missing work will be collected by your friends." He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "In case anyone asks."

"Thanks." I said, shocked.

"Don't worry about it."

I took the stairs out of the dungeon two at a time, thinking about the soft feather mattress and pillows that were waiting for me in my dormitory.

As soon as I lay down on my bed, I was instantly asleep. I slept like a log for the rest of the afternoon, but someone knocked on my door to wake me up what seemed like the next second. "Vic!"

"What is it?" I groaned, rolling over and pulling a pillow over my face. I was half awake and half in a dream where I was doing a photo shoot for the cover of Witch Weekly.

"Time for dinner!" my best friend Lila called. "There's spaghetti-your favorite."

Reluctantly I forced myself to get up and go downstairs.

The Great Hall was filled with the excited chatter of students, reliving the funniest parts of their day and making plans for the weekend-the way it always was on Friday nights. I picked at my food as I listened to one of my other friends, Joanna (but everyone calls her Jo) go into minute detail about how Adam Andrews, the hottest boy in our year, helped her pick up some books she'd dropped.

"Our hands touched! I think he likes me! This was destined to happen. It's our destiny to fall in love." Jo said dreamily. She can be a bit…overdramatic sometimes. Okay, maybe a lot of the time.

"That's great." I said, trying to muster some enthusiasm. "I think I'll head to the library now."

Lila looked up at me, concerned. "Are you all right? You never turn down spaghetti unless you're sick or upset."

"No, I'm fine. I just feel really, really tired. I didn't get to sleep until late last night and I want to get some studying done before I go to bed."

"On a Friday night?"

I grimaced apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry guys. Don't have too much fun without me."

Joanna's voice followed me as I left the room, my plate hardly touched. It was like I'd never left.

I really tried to focus on studying, but for some reason my mind wouldn't cooperate. It kept wandering back to Louis, no matter how many essays I wrote or paragraphs I read. Louis had been a firecracker of a little kid, always zipping around the house and breaking things. However, he was so cute that he could get away with anything-and he knew it. Bedtime could be a big hassle sometimes, as the only time he'd settle down was when he was listening to a story. My little brother loved stories.

He'd stayed that way as he grew up, too. He never seemed to run out of energy, no matter what he was doing or how many hours he spent running around outside. The only thing that could make him sit still was a good book. Although he kept it secret from most of his friends and classmates, Louis really loved to read.

I remembered clearly the day he died. It had seemed like a regular Saturday. The only thing that surprised me was that it was almost nine in the morning and Louis still hadn't woken up yet. He was always the early bird of the family. Eventually, I was delegated to go and wake him up.

I knew immediately that something was wrong, even before I entered the room. I call it my 'big sister intuition'. I can always tell if something is wrong with one of my siblings, like if they're sick or hurt. It's kind of like my sixth sense, and I'd like to think I still have it now. If Dom is having a bad day or isn't telling me the truth, I'll know.

Louis's skin was as cold as ice, not warm and soft like it usually was. He wasn't breathing, either. That day, I failed as an older sister.

I believe older siblings have a big mission in life-a mission that doesn't change no matter what. You're supposed to take care of your younger siblings, make sure they don't get hurt, and grow up to be kind and loving people that benefit society. That day, I didn't complete my mission. Louis had died in the room right next to mine and I hadn't been able to save him. I knew there was nothing I could've done and bad things happen no matter how much we try to stop them or don't want them to, but I felt guilty and responsible. I still did, though some days weren't as bad as others.

Now, a little thought made its way into my sleep deprived and slightly addled brain. _What if Louis's murderer isn't locked up? _We hadn't locked the house windows that night like we usually did since it was such a warm summer night. Anyone could have snuck in, waved a wand, and whispered the two words that could end my brother's life before it began: Avada Kedavra. There were hardly any clues to go on in the ensuing investigation, and Uncle Harry had been grasping at straws for a while. But who would murder an innocent kid? And why?

Ideas began to tumble through my brain faster than I could process them. There could still be Death Eaters from the Second Wizarding War-more than the ones we knew about. Even Uncle Harry had admitted that there might still be some out there somewhere, hiding in the shadows. They could be mad at our family because of the past and be determined to hit us where it would hurt-the next generation. That had to be it. That was the only rational explanation for that theory. It couldn't be anyone else-anyone who'd seen Louis and had instantly fallen in love with him. I refused to believe that.

I shook my head. What was I thinking? The Death Eaters responsible were locked up and wouldn't hurt us or anyone in our families again. _You're tired, Vic. Just got to sleep. _Reluctantly, I retired to my bed.

However, I couldn't get to sleep for the second night in a row. I tossed and turned, words and phrases swirling around in my head. _Louis was just murdered over the summer. Now Lily is attacked just three months later. Coincidence? I think not. _

My big sister intuition was tingling. I knew I was right.

Whoever had committed Louis's murder had tried to kill Lily next.

The two events couldn't possibly be unrelated.


	4. Scorpius

**On to Chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: see the previous chapter. **

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**I have also decided to name each chapter the name of the person whose POV the chapter is from. In this case, Scorpius Malfoy. **

Chapter 4-Scorpius

On Halloween, we were assigned our first big project of the year for our History of Magic class-we were to prepare a report on a famous wizard or witch and would also be drawing a picture of the person we chose. The class was also working in pairs, which were supposed to be picked 'randomly'. However, Jane Macmillan and Felicia Boot were paired as partners, and they're best friends.

I wasn't excited. I hate researching things…but I'm pretty good at art.

Honestly, I just thought that Hogwarts would be more…fun. My dad had been talking about it ever since I'd been accepted. He'd gone on for hours about how fun Quidditch was, how big a group of friends he'd been part of, and how many good times he'd had-well, before the war that is.

Things weren't going like that for me. At all.

I knew the year was going to be bad the second I was put in Gryffindor. Gryffindor, for heaven's sake! I'm one of a proud family of Slytherins. Since then, I hadn't made a single friend, and my grades were barely pushing average. I didn't relish the opportunity to do more schoolwork, but I was getting a partner to help me-who would hopefully do most of the work. That was the only good news.

Then I learned exactly who my partner would be: Rose Weasley. She's the know-it-all redhead who'd deliberately read all of our textbooks the week before school started. She was constantly spouting random facts off the top of her head that no one knew about-or cared about, for that matter. I couldn't stand her. However, we reluctantly met up in the library a few days later to start working.

"Okay." Rose said, pulling out A History of Magic. "I was thinking we could do either Albus Dumbledore or Harry Potter. I mean, I already know quite a bit about Harry since he's my uncle, but it would be interesting to learn about him from the point of view of a casual observer. What do you think, Scorpius?"

"Whatever you want to do." I said. I didn't look up from the dragon I was carefully doodling on the back of my notebook.

"Hey, that's really good." Rose was looking at my drawing with genuine interest.

I tried to cover it up, but she pulled it out of my hands before I could. "It's nothing. Really." I said, trying to snatch it back.

"No it's not. I don't know anyone who can draw this well."

I couldn't resist adding "Not even you?"  
"No. I'm terrible at drawing. I can draw your basic stick figure. That's about it."

As I looked at her, I realized that she was actually kind of cute. "I could teach you, if you want."

"Oh, sure." she said, sounding surprised. "When should we start?"

"Right now, maybe?"

"Okay." She opened her notebook to a blank page. "What should I draw first?"  
"Um…just draw a person that's not a stick figure."

"All right." For a while, all I could hear was the sound of quill on parchment as Rose worked. Finally she turned the sheet of parchment so I could see. "How is it?"

I'm not going to lie: it was awful. However, I was too nice to say that to her face. Instead I said "It's good, but there's room for improvement. Make your lines softer-like this." I demonstrated and then handed the quill back to Rose so she could practice. Her second attempt looked a lot better.

"You're improving." I said. "Now try this…"

For a while we passed the parchment back and forth between us, fixing little parts of the drawing. Rose listened really well and caught on quickly. By the time I called things quits an hour later, the drawing wasn't finished-not by a long shot-but it was looking better than it ever had before.

"Can we do this again?" Rose asked. She sounded a little shy. "I really learned a lot tonight."

"Sure. How about…every Wednesday? And…could you maybe…help me get my grades up in return?"

"I'd love to." We pushed our chairs in, cleaned up our area, and got ready to leave. "Thanks Scorpius. You're a really great teacher." Rose smiled at me and I suddenly felt light headed. "Bye." Before I could say anything else, she was rushing to meet her cousin at the door. They were having a heated debate about something, though I couldn't tell what it was.

Had I just helped a Weasley with something?

Yes, I had.

Father would be shocked.

For the next few weeks we met up every Wednesday. Each time, I'd teach Rose to draw something new and she'd help me to make a study table or color coordinate my notes. They sometimes seemed like silly things to do, but they seemed to work well for me. I actually aced a test in Herbology a few weeks before Christmas. That had never happened before. I steadily rose until I had the second highest marks in the grade-just behind Rose, of course. Rose could also draw decently now, too.

The more time I spent with Rose, the more I grew to like the little things about her: the way she squinted when she was thinking hard or how she drummed her fingers when she was feeling bored. After a while I had to admit to myself that I was developing a slight crush on Rose Weasley.

What was happening to me?


	5. Lysander and Lorcan

**Already on Chapter 5!**

**Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and followed this story! Keep them coming!**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 3.**

Chapter 5: Lysander/Lorcan

(Lysander's POV)

Platform 9 and ¾ was full of parents waiting to bring their kids home for the winter holiday. However, ours were the only parents also trying to sell newspapers.

"Quibbler!" Mum yelled over the din. "Come and get the newest issues of the Quibbler. In this issue: how to tell if you have a wrackspurt infestation!"

"Mum," Lorcan hissed.

"You're embarrassing us." I finished.

"Oh yes." she replied. "I suppose I am. Sorry, boys."

"It's okay-"

"We're used to it by now."

Soon Dad met up with us and we headed home. Dad's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at school. Even though that's really exciting and I'm very proud of him, he looked like he was going to be pretty busy over the break. He had a roll of parchment as long as his arm to grade before the next term started again.

For the rest of the afternoon, we played in the snow and had a massive snowball fight. When Mum finished writing her new issue, she came out and joined in, too. When we were so tired we could barely stand, much less make the walk back to the house, Dad brewed some hot chocolate for Lorcan and me and tea for Mum. It was a great day.

However, when night came, I couldn't go to sleep. I was exhausted, so I was surprised when I was still awake an hour after I went to bed. I tossed and turned, but I still felt wide awake. I glanced at the clock on the wall: 11:59. As I watched, it switched over to midnight.

"Lorcan! Psst! Lorcan!" I called across the room as softly as I could manage. "Can you sleep?"

"No. I assume you can't either."

"Not at all. Hey, do you want to play chess?" Ever since we were little kids, that's always been one of our favorite traditions: if we can't sleep at night, we play a game of chess or two. We aren't allowed to play more than that though, since that one night a few years ago when we ended up playing all night.

"Sure." He started to walk over.

I was just about to break out the chess set that's always stashed above my bed when there was a loud, piercing scream from the other side of the house. Within seconds, we were both on our feet. Just then, Dad's voice echoed down the hall. "Lysander! Lorcan! Get in here now!" He sounded slightly panicked.

We ran as fast as we could through the house, slipping and running into things in the pitch dark. When Dad yells like that, you know it's something serious. Finally after what seemed like forever, we reached our parents' room. Mum was lying on the floor, unconscious and covered in blood. Dad was kneeling next to her, trying frantically to staunch a wound on her stomach. "What happened?" Lorcan asked.

"I don't know. A figure came in through the window, out of nowhere. He would have killed your mother if she hadn't screamed. As it was, whoever it was hit her with a cutting curse. It doesn't seem to be too bad though."

I wasn't convinced. There really was a lot of blood.

"Lysander, please help me." he continued. "Lorcan, floo to the Potter household. Tell them we need whatever help they can give-pronto."

"On it, Dad." Lorcan grabbed some powder out of the ceramic box on the mantelpiece, lit a fire, and walked into the flames. I barely heard him say "Potter Manor!" before he was whisked out of sight.

Dad turned to me. "There are more bandages in the bathroom drawer. Please bring them in here." I nodded and got the bandages as fast as I could, trying to stay calm.

"Is Mum going to be all right?" I asked nervously upon my return.

"I hope so, Lysander. I really hope so."

I couldn't help noticing that he didn't give me a straight answer.

(Lorcan's POV)

I landed in the front hall of Potter Manor. It was familiar to me, as I'd been there quite a few times for holiday parties and such. Our families were pretty close. "Harry! Harry Potter!" I yelled, trying not to panic. Even now Mum could be dying…

Ginny hurried down the stairs. "Lorcan? What is it?"

"There was an attack at my house about twenty minutes ago. Mum's been injured."

A range of emotions passed across her face: confusion, then anger, then concern, before finally settling into grim determination. "Harry!" she called upstairs.

Harry poked his head out of the bedroom. "What is it? Why's Lorcan here? Not that he isn't always welcome of course, but it _is_ the middle of the night…"

"Luna is injured. There was an attack." Ginny said, filling him in quickly. "I'm going over to help."

"No." Harry said quickly. "I'll go. Call your brothers and tell them to meet me there. Lorcan looks dead on feet, so you might want to give him something to drink. I'll send Lysander over. There's a chance, however unlikely, that the others may be in danger." He grabbed his wand and some powder and Flooed away.

Ginny looked as shocked as I felt, but she recovered quickly and rearranged her features into a reassuring smile. "Come here, Lorcan. I'll make you some tea."

I lay down on the couch in a small parlor off the kitchen, feeling extremely tired but also wide awake. I wished Lysander was here.

Soon, I heard footsteps on the stairwell, followed by James asking "What happened, Mum? Where did Dad go?"

"Don't worry about it. He'll just be away for a couple of hours. Lorcan is here and Lysander should be arriving soon. Why don't you go sit in the parlor with him? I'm sure he could use the company." She dropped her voice, probably filling them in on what happened. A few minutes later, the parlor door eased open. James, Albus, and Lily walked in. They all looked scared.

"How's it going, mate?" James asked hesitantly.

I shrugged. "I've been better. How are you?"

"Fine. Your mum will be all right."

"How do you know?"

"Just…trust me, okay?"

I managed a weak smile. "I'll try. Sorry I got you up so early."

James grinned and ruffled my hair as Lily handed me a soft blanket. "Don't worry about it."

Just then, the door opened and Lysander rushed in. He looked extremely pale. I immediately jumped to my feet, heart pounding. "How is she?"

"She'll be in St. Mungo's for a week, but she'll be okay."  
I almost cried with relief. "Thank goodness."  
"Yeah. We're going to stay with the Potters for a few weeks, just so you know. We'll go back home tomorrow for a couple hours to get our clothes and stuff while under heavy guard. All the adults are really nervous. That's the second attack in three months. A couple Aurors are going to be stationed on the Hogwarts Express. Harry doesn't think the attacks have stopped."

The parlor went dead silent. Finally, Albus stepped forward, smiling weakly. "In that case, welcome to the family!"


	6. Albus

**2 chapters today! I hope you enjoy.**

**Also, I will be out of town until Monday, so don't expect a new chapter until late Monday or Tuesday. Sorry for the delay.**

**The next chapter will be a continuation of Chapter 6, which I did not have time to completely finish, but I wanted to put more out there to make up for my absence. **

**On with the story!**

Chapter 5-Albus

I love Christmas, especially the way we celebrate it in our family.

Everyone gathers at the Burrow a few days before Christmas-it's practically mandatory. All of the relatives come-except for Uncle Charlie, who's sometimes busy with his dragons in Romania, and Uncle Bill, Aunt Fleur, Vic, and Dom, who divide their holidays between us and the French side of the family. There's plenty of food, and no one cares what we do-as long as we aren't getting into too much trouble.

We were a little late this year because of Lily. She had a hard time finding her belongings after the Aurors basically raided her bedroom in search of clues. Normally, James and I would give her a really hard time about it, but since she almost died a few months ago, we cut her some slack.

Almost as soon as we arrived, Rose grabbed my sleeve and dragged me to a deserted broom cabinet near the garden.

"What was that for?" I asked. Don't get me wrong, Rose is my favorite cousin, but I had been looking forward to playing Quidditch with the boys.

"We need to think about this. Two members or friends of the family have almost died in three months. We have to make a plan." she said, opening to a blank page in her multi-purpose notebook.

"You're the boss." I sighed.

"Okay, so…" She began to write. I craned my head over her shoulder so I could see.

First attack: Lily Potter

When: October 24th

Where: Potter Manor

Who: ?

"Who has access to Lily's bedroom?" Rose asked.

"Dad said that the window was open that night. It could have been anyone, really."  
"We need more information."  
Furiously, she began to write again. When she was finished, she handed me a list of names.

Bill, Fleur, Percy, Audrey, George, Angelina, Grandpa Weasley

"These are all the people not accounted for that night."  
"Wait-all these people know Lily. They wouldn't hurt her." I protested.

"Al, someone close to Lily tried to kill her, or it was someone she recognized. Otherwise, wouldn't she have screamed or tried to alert someone? You know she's a light sleeper. She would've screamed bloody murder."

I didn't want to admit it, but Rose did have a point. "Okay. I'll take Bill, Fleur, Percy, and Audrey."

"All right. I'll meet you back here later."  
###########################################################################

Two hours later, we reconvened. Rose opened to a new page and labelled it Suspects. Slowly, we filled in our information. When we were all done, it looked like this:

Bill Weasley-Uncle

Was at home all evening.

Fleur Weasley-Aunt

At home.

Percy Weasley-Uncle

Worked late at the office.

Audrey Weasley-Aunt

Was at a parenting seminar.

George Weasley-Uncle

At home.

Angelina Weasley-Aunt

Also at home.

Arthur Weasley-Grandfather

Went to a bar to swap stories. Came home sometime before 1:30 in the morning. Attack happened at 2:00.

Just then, the door burst open and Roxanne came in. "Hey! What are you two up to?"

Quickly, Rose hid the piece of paper. "Nothing."

"That's funny. I wasn't asking." Rose was quick, but Roxanne was quicker. Before I could stop her, she'd grabbed our small stack of papers and was reading through them. When she looked up again, her eyes were serious. "You're looking for a murderer, aren't you?"  
I nodded. It's impossible to hide something from Roxanne when she really wants to know something.

"Roxanne, you don't have to help us, but please don't tell anyone." Rose pleaded.

"Why would I tell anyone? I'm in, too. However, you guys know that this is way bigger than us, right? This is really, really dangerous."

Rose looked away. "I know, but what if it happens again? What if we aren't so lucky this time?"  
Roxanne nodded. "Right. Well, I'm here to help. So, what have you two got so far?"

I pointed at the list. "We think the culprit could either be Percy, Audrey, or Grandpa Weasley, since we've had people confirm that the others were where they said they were."

"It wasn't Percy or Audrey. I know they were gone. Audrey hired a babysitter to watch Molly and Lucy for the week. Molly was sick, so I Flooed to her primary school a couple of times to collect her homework."

I exchanged a look with Rose. "What was the babysitter's name?"  
"I…it wasn't Maud…Madge. Madge Fawcett."

Rose added another name to the list.

"So, are we planning to tell Uncle Harry?" Roxanne asked. He usually handles any and all family cases.

"We need more proof. We have to talk to Madge." Rose decided.

Just then, Grandma said that it was time for dinner. We weren't able to talk further.

I silently dared the attacker to try again.

Bring it on.

We had a plan.


	7. Victoire 1

Chapter 6-Victoire There's a room in my house that hasn't been touched in months. Nothing's been moved. Dust has collected on the bed and posters of Quidditch teams that hang on the walls, but it's exactly the same, down to the copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them lying on the floor. It's Louis's old room. Sometimes, I go in there when I need to think or need a quiet place to work. It can be nice, feeling like I'm so close to my younger brother. I never thought to look for evidence there. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. There wasn't a whole lot in the room: a book shelf, a chest full of action figures and plastic dragons, a bed with a blue duvet cover and matching nightstand, and a closet. The first thing out of place that I noticed was that Louis's window was slightly open. It had been closed when he went to bed that night-I know because I closed it myself. Then I saw that something was sandwiched between the window pane and the screen- a small wooden bird. I picked it up and held it to the light. It wasn't much, certainly not meant as a conversation piece. _A calling card…_ I ran to the fireplace. "Mum, is it okay if I Floo to Uncle Harry's house?"  
"Sure sweetie. Tell him that we're expecting them for dinner." "Okay. I will." I pulled out a handful of Floo powder and stepped into the flames. "Hi Vic!" Lily greeted me when I arrived. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her brothers. All three of them were doing homework. "Hey Lily! Listen, could I see your room?" "Sure!" She was more than happy to escort me upstairs. At a glance, I took in the purple walls and carpet-signs that a little girl lived here. Pictures and school assignments were framed on the walls. However, I brushed past all of these things until I reached the window. I felt in the space between the screen and the glass- -and pulled out a wooden bird, identical to the one I'd found previously. "What's that?" Lily asked curiously. "I'm not sure yet. Listen-are Lorcan and Lysander still here?"  
"Yeah. I think they're outside." It turned out that the boys had just gotten back form a visit to their old house. Perfect. "Hey guys." I said. They were playing Quidditch with James and Albus. "Hey Vic." Lysander said, bringing his broom to a neat stop before me. "What can we do for you?" Lorcan asked. They're so alike that it's sometimes easy to believe that they're one person. "This is going to sound weird, but did you see something like this in your mother's bedroom? Perhaps by a window?" I held it up for them to see. "As a matter of fact-" "We did. Mum's always buying interesting things-" "So we didn't pay much attention to it." "Why do you ask?"  
I was torn. Should I let them in on the investigation or not? Lily was also standing nearby, looking curious. Did I really want to get them involved or possibly frighten them? Lily had been a victim of an attack, as had the twins' mother. If something was going on, they deserved to know. "I don't think that the birds are just decorative trinkets. I think this is the person's calling card-whoever is staging all these attacks. Something they leave to show that they've been her. I found one in your room, Lily, and there was one in Luna's room as well. I also found a third bird-in Louis's bedroom." Lily gasped. "Do you think the same person…killed Louis?"  
"I don't have any proof yet, but I'm working on it. I think everything's connected somehow." "So, you're out to catch a murderer?" Lorcan asked. "Brilliant! Where do we start?" James asked. I knew there was no use hiding it anymore. We were all in the investigation now. There would be no turning back 


	8. Victoire 2

**I'm back! Thanks to all the people who are continuing to read this story. Review, follow, and favorite!**

Chapter 7-Victoire

"First of all, we have to get one thing straight: all we're doing at this point is finding clues. No one is going off on a pointless manhunt. Got it?" I said. Even if I'd decided to let my cousins in on the secret, I had to establish a few basic ground rules. I had cousins like James and Fred, who would do whatever they could to find loopholes in rules.

"Fine." James sighed. I could tell that he was disappointed, though.

"No loopholes."  
"Come on, Vic! Can't we have a little fun?"

"No! How can you think anything about this is funny? If we aren't careful, someone could die-and I don't think you'd like to lose your siblings like I lost my sister, as one older sibling to another."

James immediately sobered up. "Okay. Can I Floo Fred and Roxanne and tell them everything?"

I glanced around the sunny clearing, looking for any guilty faces. "I'm pretty sure that they already know. I also don't think we should tell Uncle Harry about it yet-you know, until we have concrete evidence. We'll have a family meeting at the Burrow on the night before term begins , and we'll go over our findings there. Until then, keep your eyes and ears open, but do nothing more. Got it?"

They all nodded solemnly. There are definitely a few advantages to being one of the oldest cousins. We all shook on it, and then they went back to their game, except for Albus. He walked up to me, seemingly very interested in the grassy ground. "I have to talk to you." he said quietly.

Curiously, I followed him to his room. He rummaged around in his desk for a few minutes until he pulled out a few sheets of paper. "What's up, Al?"  
"Well…you aren't the only one who's been thinking about an investigation. On Christmas, Roxanne, Rose, and I made a list of suspects…and we've found someone who may have answers." He filled me in on what he'd found out.

"Madge Fawcett? I know her. She's a nice girl. She wouldn't hurt a fly-and she certainly wouldn't try to kill anyone."

"It's not likely that she was directly involved, but maybe she knows who did it. We're going over to talk to her in a few days."

"Tell me what you find out, okay?"

"I will."

"Vic! Your mother just called. She wants you to come home and get changed before dinner!" Aunt Ginny called up the stairs.

"Coming!" I ruffled Albus's dark hair. "See you soon."

My head was buzzing with new information. Maybe-just maybe-we had a chance to defeat whoever had killed my brother.

"Vic?"

I glanced up from my Potions homework. Dominique was standing in the door to my bedroom, twisting her fingers the way she always does when she's nervous. "Yeah?" I responded.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed your attitude lately. You locked yourself in Louis's room for hours today and then went straight to the Potters'. At dinner, they were all exchanging looks like they knew something that I didn't. All evening, you've been quiet and withdrawn. What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not. I just…had a hard day."

"I want to help-especially if what you're doing involves Louis. Maybe you missed it, but I'm his big sister, too-and I'm just as much at fault as you are."

I realized she had a point. "It wasn't your fault, Dom. Don't ever tell yourself that. It was no one's fault, except the murderer's, of course. Sometimes…I forget that. As for the mission, I guess I might as well tell you. Most of the cousins are in on it, and you'll probably hear about it sooner or later. Make yourself comfortable. It's a long story." Dom slid onto the bed next to me and listened attentively for the entire half hour that it took to tell her everything.

"Wow. That's…dangerous." she said when I'd finally finished. "How can I help?"  
"I'm not sure. I don't want you to get hurt if things get bad."

"I'm not afraid, Vic."

"I know, but I am. I already failed Louis at being a big sister. I don't want to lose you, too."

Soft arms encircled me. "You're a great big sister, Vic. You never failed Louis, so you can stop telling yourself that. And I know you won't fail me."

In that moment, all seemed right with the world.

**Filler chapter, with a little sisterly fluff. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a review. Next chapter will feature the visit to the Fawcett's house. **


	9. Rose

**On to Chapter 9!**

**Read and review, follow, and favorite!**

Chapter 9-Rose

On the day before term began again, I went to the Fawcett's house with Albus.

Madge's younger sister, Kylie, met us at the door. Kylie's six, and she's really, really cute. "Hi Rose! Hi Albus! Do you want to play dolls with me in the backyard?"  
"We'd love to, but we have to talk to Madge today. Would you mind telling her that we've arrived?" I asked.

"Sure!" Kylie ran back into the house. Her footsteps echoed as she ran up the old wooden staircase that led to the house's second story from the kitchen.

I turned to Albus. "Do you really think Madge attacked Louis, Lily, and Mrs. Scamander?"

"No, but I think there's a good chance she might know something about it."  
Just then, Kylie came back and grabbed my hand. "She wants to see you. Come on!"

Madge had a small attic bedroom that was surprisingly bare, considering that it belonged to a teenage girl. She smiled pleasantly enough when she saw us, but her eyes looked terrified. As soon as Kylie left, she shut the door behind her and drew the blinds. "What can I do for you two today?"

"We just want to ask you a few questions."

She started to cry. "I didn't do it! I swear I didn't! He…he said I couldn't call anyone-if I did, he would kill Kylie-"

"Wait-slow down and start at the beginning." Albus replied calmly. "What happened?"

"A man came up to me when I was taking Kylie to the park. He knew I was going to be babysitting Molly and Lucy Weasley that Friday night. He said he would be entering the house at ten in the evening and using the fireplace. I wasn't to stop him or call anyone or he would make sure that Kylie died a very painful death. I was so scared that I obeyed him. I swear I didn't know that he would try to murder anyone! Afterwards, I wanted to tell Harry, but I was afraid I'd get in trouble and I was still worried about Kylie's safety. Last week, he made me do it again, this time at my own house. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Who talked to you? Did you recognize the man at all?"

"No. I'd never seen him before. He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see his face. However, he did have a tattoo of a snake on his lower arm. I think it was a Dark Mark."

My blood ran cold. So, we were dealing with Death Eaters…

"Madge, you have to tell this to Uncle Harry." I said. "You won't be in trouble. He'll be able to figure out who talked to you so the attacks will stop."

Madge nodded tearfully. "Okay. I'll come over tomorrow morning before we have to catch the train."

We stayed at the Fawcett's house for another hour, making sure we had all of our facts correct. When the sun began to set, we bade Madge farewell and headed home. I couldn't wait for the next day to come.

Maybe we'd finally get some answers.

"Rose, wake up!"

"Uhh…" I looked at my alarm clock. 2 in the morning. "It's…too early."  
Mum switched on the light, making it impossible for me to go back to sleep. "This is an emergency, Rose. Get dressed. We're Flooing to the Burrow as soon as you're ready."  
The word 'emergency' startled me out of my early morning stupor. "Wait-why? What happened?"  
"Harry didn't say. He just told us to meet him at the Burrow as soon as possible. He said that something terrible had happened." She ruffled my hair once, but I could tell that she was distracted. After making sure I wouldn't fall back to sleep the minute she left the room, she left to go wake Hugo.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, feeling sick. Had there been another attack?

When we reached the Burrow, the first thing I saw was Kylie Fawcett sobbing into a mug of hot chocolate. My heart slid down to my stomach. Dad and Uncle Harry were talking in low voices with Grandpa Weasley.

"Harry, what happened?" Mum asked.

"Arthur was woken up early this morning by Kylie Fawcett. Apparently, she'd run all the way here. She said Death Eaters killed her family. I went to the Fawcett household myself to investigate. Carrow, Jenny, and Madge are all dead."

The room seemed to spin. Quickly, I ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Once safely locked inside, I sunk to the bathroom floor, crying. Never had I felt so guilty, even after that time I broke Aunt Angelina's favorite vase on accident. I threw up most of the pizza I'd had for dinner the previous night.

Albus wasn't in much better shape than I was. "We have to tell Dad." I nodded solemnly. We were somewhat responsible for this, after all.

Uncle Harry looked mildly annoyed at being interrupted. "Yes Albus, Rose? What is it?" Then he saw our faces. "Kids, what's wrong? You both look terrible."

I exchanged a look with my cousin. "We have something we need to talk to you about-in private." Harry nodded and followed us outside. The sun hadn't risen yet, so it was very cold. I pulled my winter jacket around me, shivering in a manner that had nothing to do with the subzero temperatures.

"What is it?" Harry asked again.

"We know something…about Madge. We think we know why the Fawcetts were murdered-and we think it's our fault." Then we told him everything: from Louis to the wooden birds to Madge's story.

Harry looked stunned. "You were actively looking for a murderer? Do either of you have any idea how much danger you put yourselves in?"

"We're sorry, but we had to do something. We didn't want anyone else to get hurt." Albus replied.

Harry's eyes softened. "I'm sure your heart was in the right place. This wasn't your fault. Madge Fawcett was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just wish you would have told me sooner. We could have stationed Aurors with the Fawcetts or…" I knew he was blaming himself again, although there was nothing he could've done. "However, I appreciate you trying to protect the family. I'll reopen the Louis Weasley case. There's no way these four incidents are unrelated." He walked away, probably to call some Aurors.

I sank down onto the snow covered grass. "We screwed up, Al. Majorly."

"I know." He sat down beside me, but I knew he was miles away. "Do you think there's a chance she might still be alive?"  
I shook my head. "Uncle Harry wouldn't say she was dead unless she really was. Maybe the Death Eater was going to kill her anyway, once she'd outlived her usefulness, but I still feel like it's all our fault, you know?"

Albus nodded. "What if we'd insisted she come over yesterday? Do you think that would have made a difference?"  
"I don't know, Al." It was hard to believe that we'd be boarding a train full of happy, smiling children in just a few hours' time. I started to cry again, despite Albus's best efforts to comfort me.

Madge Fawcett and her parents were dead because of us.

**Things turn serious….Next chapter, the kids will go back to Hogwarts. Thanks for reading!**


	10. James

**Already on chapter 10! **

**Just saw the Guardians of the Galaxy movie last night. It was probably one of the best movies I've seen all summer.**

**Anyway, review, follow, and favorite!**

Chapter 10-James

Usually, the ride back to school on the Hogwarts Express is a lot of fun. It's a time for us all to be together, no matter what our house at school is. We play Exploding Snap, eat candy off the trolley, and trade stories. Usually, this turns into a contest between us: who can make the others laugh the hardest? Not to brag or anything, but I usually win, if Fred doesn't beat me.

Today though, we were really subdued on the way back to face the spring term. The murders yesterday were still weighing heavily on our minds. We all felt responsible, in a way.

I didn't see how things could get much worse.

"Do you think the attacks are over?" Fred asked, shuffling a deck of cards.

Teddy shrugged, not looking up from his textbook. He would be taking the OWLs this year, so he spent every spare minute studying. "I don't know. He might think it's too dangerous. After all, we know he's a Death Eater now."  
"How does that help us? It's the only thing we know about him. We need more information."  
"There's only a handful of Death Eaters that are out of Azkaban. We'll find him. Besides, this is Hogwarts we're talking about. If the school isn't safe, then I don't know what is."

The days ticked by. School, school, and more school. However, there were no more attacks.

Then, two weeks after break, I was summoned to Professor Flitwick's office during Herbology. I was kind of glad to leave class, actually. I'd accidentally repotted my mandrake plant wrong and it had screamed bloody murder until Professor Longbottom could calm it down. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with me. However, I had no idea what I'd done wrong this time. Usually I have a faint inkling if a prank has gone terribly wrong, but not that day.

Fred met me in the hallway outside Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Oi James! What do you think this is all about?"  
"I don't know. Did you release those Filibuster Fireworks under your bed without telling me?"  
"No, of course not! Did you?"

"No….."  
I was starting to have a bad feeling about the whole thing. If Fred had been called, too…there was a chance that the whole family was involved.

That could not be a good thing.

When we reached Professor Flitwick's office, the other Weasleys and Potters were already there. Flitwick himself was holding out a faintly glowing book that looked older than the castle-another Portkey. "There's been a situation. Lucy Weasley was found in a coma this morning."  
My mouth went dry. Lucy's my youngest cousin. The attacks had started again.

Lucy is small for her age, but she looked even smaller in a hospital bed meant for adults. Her eyes were slightly open, and her breathing was shallow but steady. She looked like she could wake up at any moment. It was scary-no. It was terrifying.

Aunt Audrey was sobbing in a chair next to her daughter's bedside. Uncle Percy was trying to comfort her, but he didn't look to be in much better shape himself. Molly was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi guys." Audrey smiled wanly. "Make yourselves comfortable. Lucy's so glad you're here."  
I glanced at the prone figure on the bed. I highly doubted that Lucy was aware of our presence, but I wasn't about to tell my aunt that.

"Of course. Where's Molly?" Dom asked. The two have always gotten along extremely well.

"At her other grandparents' house. We haven't told her yet. We don't want to put her through all this…"

"What spell was she hit with?" Vic inquired quietly.

"A spell designed to put its victim in a comatose state. It isn't a deadly spell, but it can only be removed by the person who cast it in the first place. Until we find-and apprehend-the culprit, all we can do is keep her comfortable." Percy's voice broke on the last word. I felt like this was a private thing. We shouldn't be here.

"When did it happen?" Rose speculated, squeezing Lucy's limp hand with her own.

"Sometime last night. She wouldn't wake up this morning. I don't know what's wrong, or why anyone would want to harm my little girl." Audrey started to sob again and one by one we filed out. Percy would take care of her.

Our parents were holding a whispered conference in the hallway. I was about to go and join them, but then I saw the corner of Vic's white shirt disappearing around the hospital's corner. I followed her to a small waiting area, where she sat down and buried her face in her hands. She looked close to tears.

"Hey Vic. What's wrong?" I asked.

"It was like that with Louis. I couldn't wake him up." She looked up at me, a single tear trailing its way down her cheek. "I can't get over it, James. He was my little brother. How am I supposed to live without him?"

"It's only been a few months. It's going to be hard at first, but it'll get better."

"I just miss him so much, all the time."

"I know. I do, too." Louis had been one of my favorite cousins. He always wanted to do something and he was good at almost everything-no matter what sport we happened to be playing. His death had affected all of us-more than we cared to admit. "He's at peace though, Vic."

"How do you know?"  
"I don't, but I believe he is. He was too good a person to be anywhere else. Anyway, he wouldn't want us to grieve for him. He'd want us to keep on living and surviving. I think we should try to honor his wishes-not that it won't be really hard, of course."

Vic smiled at me. "Thanks, James. You know, for someone who spends all day pulling pranks, you're not too bad."

"I know." I said proudly. "Should we go back to the family?"  
"I'm going to stay here for a little while. I just…need to be alone."  
"I understand. You know where to find us, right?"

She nodded. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

"Okay." I waved and headed back down the hallway.

"It could be worse." Uncle Bill was saying when I reached them. "Lucy could be dead."

"Whoever did this didn't want her dead! He did exactly what he meant to do-he scared us!" Uncle George retorted.

Uncle Ron spoke up. He looked relieved. "I talked to McGonagall. She's agreed to let Hugo, Molly, and Lily stay at Hogwarts for the time being to ensure their safety."

"What if Hogwarts isn't as safe as it once was?"

"They'll be safer there than they will with us, in any case. We've seen the results ourselves. We know what's at stake. We take the necessary precautions. We do the right things, but things like this happen anyway. Something has to be done-and soon."  
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder-Dad. He gave Albus and me quick hugs before he signaled the other kids to come over. "I've narrowed the list down to a few suspects." He opened his bag and pulled out some pictures: wanted posters. They were dry and yellowed with age. "Rabastan Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and Amycus and Alecto Carrow. All were Death Eaters, all have so far evaded capture and prosecution, and all have grudges against the family. I also found something in Lucy's window sill that you might find interesting."

He held up a wooden bird.

**Next chapter: Winter fun!**


	11. Fred

**I apologize for the slight delay. I should be sticking to my updating schedule more regularly for the next couple of weeks. **

**Read, review, follow, and favorite! Tell me if you like the story-or even if you hate it! I'm always open to comments :)**

**Note: the tab key on my computer isn't working, so the indents are going to be a little off this chapter.**

**I'll be quiet now and let you read the chapter!**

Chapter 11: Fred

The only somewhat good thing that came of our visit to St. Mungo's was that I got an extra day to work on my Potions essay. I'd 'accidentally' left it until the last minute again. That's not a surprise or anything. I pride myself on my ability to leave things (especially schoolwork) until the last minute.

The next day, Lily, Hugo, and Molly arrived at the castle. They looked completely shell shocked as they stood in the doorway to the Great Hall. Their eyes were trying to take everything in as they clutched small bags filled with clothes and their most prized possessions. Hard to believe, I know, but I knew the feeling.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" I said jovially, flinging my arms wide open. "To your left and right, you see the house tables, and directly ahead of you is the staff table."

"This place is even cooler than King's Cross!" Hugo exclaimed.

"Are those candles really floating from the ceiling?" Lily asked.

"Of course not!" Molly cried bossily. "I can tell you how it works, if you like. Roxanne told me all about it over Christmas."  
"Now Molly, let's not spoil the magic." James whispered conspiratorially. We all burst out laughing before trooping upstairs to the Gryffindor common room.

We'd drawn straws: Hugo would share a dormitory with James and me while Lily and Molly shared with Rose and Roxanne. Hugo basically flung his suitcase down on the bed prepared for him and demanded to explore further. "Will you show me the lake?"

I glanced at James. "How much time do we have before the next period?"  
He shrugged. "Enough. Come on, Hugo. Let's go."  
##############################################################################

The temperature had reached the mid forties-almost unheard of this early in January. A few brave souls were even swimming in the lake.

"Aren't they cold?" Hugo whispered, shivering inside his winter coat.

"Probably." I replied.

"Then why are they doing it?"  
"To save face. I wonder who dared them to do that?" James mused.

"Jared Finnegan. Who else?" I said. Jared was in the year above us. He was known for his love of gambling anything and everything.

"Good point. Oh no. Here he comes now…."

It was too late to hide. Jared had already come up to us, his pockets clinking with knuts and sickles. His two cronies, Pierce and Warren, flanked him on either side. "Enjoying the weather?" he asked.

"Yeah. We're just showing Hugo here the lake." James explained.

"I see. Nice day for a swim, eh Weasley?" Jared was smiling at me in a not-so-nice way.

"I would, but I have to get to class."

"Class can wait. Come on, Fred. I'll even give you thirty Sickles."

Like I had a choice. "Fine." I shrugged out of my jacket and handed it to James. "Hold this, will you?" I took a few quick steps to the water's edge.

"What's the matter? Scared?" Jared taunted.

"Of course not!" I closed my eyes and jumped in. _It'll be just like falling into a hot tub…_

Um, not quite.

The water was freezing cold. It felt like I was being stabbed with thousands of tiny knives. I drew in a deep breath and took in a mouthful of water, my chest contracting unpleasantly. It seemed to take eons for me to reach the surface of the water, though it had to only be a few seconds. I was farther out from shore than I'd meant to go, having floated out on the current. Dimly, I could see my friends on the bank-not just Jared, Pierce, Warren, Hugo, and James, but the rest of my cousins, Lysander, Lorcan, and Teddy as well. Lysander was waving at me furiously and gesturing for me to come back to shore. I groaned and began to swim.

By the time I reached the beach, I was so cold I could hardly walk. Lorcan and Teddy more or less pulled me to shore.

"Not bad, Weasley. Not bad." Jared said as he pressed a few coins into my hand. "Not as good as Donnie Corner, though. He was under for twenty seconds! Of course, that was before we realized that he had gone into shock due to the cold. Oh, I say, there he is now!" He waved to someone over my shoulder and ran off. You can't say he's not an honorable gambler.

"So….cold…" I muttered.

"Honestly, Fred," Lorcan said, throwing a blanket over my shoulders.

"You should have told us if you were going to do something dumb like that. We'd have-" Lysander began.

"Done it with you."

"You poor thing!" Vic said, examining me like a worried mother hen. "Are you all right?"

I nodded, though my teeth were rattling around in their sockets.

She didn't look convinced. "Dom, why don't you take him to the hospital wing since you have a free period?"

"Sure! Let's go." Dom took my arm and led me up the path to the castle.

"Hey, Fred!" Hugo called after us. "That was wicked cool!"

"I'm…glad…someone…thinks…so." I muttered.

The next day happened to be a Saturday. Saturdays are my favorite days of the week, mostly because they can be used for so many different things: doing homework (which I occasionally do), studying for tests (almost never) and pranks (all the time!). I pulled a really good prank on Scorpius Malfoy early in the morning-I replaced his shampoo with hair gel. You'd think he'd stuck his finger into an electrical outlet. Boy, was he mad!

That left the rest of the day free. The common room was filled to bursting, and I wanted to get out as soon as possible. There wasn't even room to play a decent game of Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess. Then, I happened to glance out the window, at the new blanket of powder snow that had fallen overnight. "James, I just got the most wonderful idea."

His grin was identical to my own. "Does it involve snow?"

"Lots and lots and lots of it. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Are you thinking…"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" we yelled at the same time.

Twenty minutes later, we'd convinced the cousins to join us in the back courtyard. We also roped in the twins, who were just as bored as we were.

We divided into three teams: Teddy, Roxanne, Albus, and Molly vs. Lily, Rose, Lorcan, and me vs. Lysander, Dom, Hugo and James. Vic agreed to be the mediator, which was very nice of her to do. Every good snowball fight needs a mediator.

James and I marked boundaries on either side of the courtyard. "You'll have ten seconds to pack as many snowballs as you can. Once Vic gives the signal, you can start. Last person standing wins-no cheating, please. If you fall, you fall." Lysander explained.

The ten seconds were a confused rush of snowball building and hiding. Lorcan, who's extremely crafty, built a small hollow near our snowballs at the foot of a hollow tree. It was a really ingenious hiding place. You wouldn't know what it was until you were almost on top of it. Then, Vic yelled "GO!" and everything dissolved into white, snowy chaos.

I scored a good face shot on Lysander, but one of James's projectiles grazed the back of my jacket. Determined for revenge, I expertly tripped him and sent him sprawling to the ground. He laughed good naturedly, easily taking the joke. Molly got Lily good in the back while Teddy rubbed snow into Roxanne's hair. Hugo and Rose were locked into a fierce battle of sibling versus sibling.

I wished the school year could just be one long snowball fight.

Scorpius watched us from behind a nearby tree for almost an hour. I didn't bother to ask him to join us, and neither did anyone else. I think Rose was going to, but then Dom hit her with a well placed snowball to the arm and she got distracted.

In the end, I didn't win, though I was one of the last ones standing. Dom narrowly beat out Lorcan using an amazing foot movement that I doubt I'll ever see used again-it was sheer perfection.

Two hours later, we sprawled out in the snow. All of us were soaked and chilled to the bone, exhausted, and completely elated. Even Teddy, who spent every free minute studying for his O.W.L.s didn't complain about not being bent over a book. We were all laughing and talking over each other to make ourselves heard. I ended up near James and the twins, so of course our conversation turned to pranks.

Of course, when that happens-especially if all four of us are involved-Hogwarts would do well to watch out.

On Monday, a dungbomb detonated 'accidentally' in a bathroom on the first floor. It scared the living daylights out of a lot of first years, including Albus. James laughed until he cried. I have to admit, the look on Albus's face was a little funny. Not as funny as when Scorpius came tearing out of the bathroom waving his arms and screaming like death itself was on his heels.

Two days later, several students found themselves with trick wands from Dad's shop.

We were pranking like never before. If it had been a normal year, we would have been caught long ago. We're very good, obviously, but not that good. However, the circumstances-including the fact that Lucy was still in a coma-might have let us get away with a few things.

On Friday night, my co-conspirators and I were gathered around a table in the Gryffindor common room, planning more mayhem for the following week.

"Listen, I heard that Professor Sinistra is going to be out of town for a few days. Use that to your advantage." Lysander whispered.

"Substitutes are always the best…" Lorcan intoned.

Between us, James and I had already filled the front and back of a sheet of paper with ideas. "Gentlemen, pick your favorites."  
Just then, Scorpius stood up on a nearby table so he could be seen and heard over the din. He was shaking with anger. "If you don't stop pranking, people could get in trouble. They might even get hurt."  
"Like your dad, the bouncing ferret?" James called.

The common room filled with laughter. Scorpius climbed down, looking sheepish-and furious.

"The nerve of some children-"Lysander began airily.

"Is just unbelievable." Lorcan finished.

That made us laugh even harder.

"Really, what does he know anyway? He's a Malfoy." I said. "But listen, he's really annoying me. I say we prank him again-the Prank to End all Pranks. Who's with me?"

The other boys raised their hands in a show of unanimous support.

"Good."  
We planned for another hour. After that, we split up and went to our dormitory, shared between the four of us. Hugo was already asleep.

"I have a feeling this will be really fun." James said.

"Yeah. I'm with you on that one, buddy." I fell asleep with my mind full of plans.

I was extremely sick of being woken up in the middle of the night, but tonight was no exception. James shook me awake and I jumped to my feet instinctively, disoriented and confused in the dark. "What's the deal, mate?" I complained.

He looked worried. Hugo, standing just behind him, looked terrified. That's when I knew that something awful had happened. "Rose is in a coma!" he finally said.

**Next chapter: Scorpius's Confrontation**


	12. Albus 2

**Welcome back!**

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Chapter 12-Albus

_This can't be happening._

The thought replayed in my head over and over, like a mantra. I tried to convince myself that this was all some weird and terrible dream. Rose was okay. She had to be. I dashed from the Slytherin common room to the infirmary, barely noticing that I was moving. However, when I got there, my resolve crumbled away as I saw Rose lying in an infirmary bed, half awake, half asleep. My legs gave out underneath me, and I would have fallen to the floor if it hadn't been for James and Fred.

"Are you all right, mate?" Fred asked. I could only shake my head in response.

"Good. Neither am I." James said. To my surprise he appeared close to tears.

"Who else is here?" I asked, turning to examine the room. Roxanne was facing the window across the room that looked down onto the school grounds. She was crying.

"Teddy is going to get Vic and Dom. They should be here soon."

Almost as if in answer to his words, the door to the infirmary burst open once again and our other cousins rushed in, followed by the twins.

"What's the big deal, leaving us out of the excitement?" Lysander asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"It's not excitement." I replied. I turned so that I was facing the wall. Anything was better than seeing Rose like that. "What can we do for her?"  
"Nothing." Roxanne said. There was a steely edge to her voice. "We can't do a thing."

Then, I lost it. All the stress of the past few months had finally gotten to me. "Who keeps doing this to us? How did they hurt us here? I mean, this is Hogwarts! It's supposed to be the safest place in the world!" I glanced around at each person in the room, daring them to offer a suggestion or to contradict me. No one did.

Just then, Rose rolled over and began to speak, though her eyes were still closed. "Albus. Al…bus."

In a flash, I was at her side. "I'm right here, Rosie. How can I help you?" My heart was practically beating out of my chest.

"He wants…to kill us….all of us. Scorpius….Scorpius knows….." Just then, she uttered a loud, piercing scream that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and fell silent.

"Rose? Rose, what do you mean?" I practically yelled. "What do you mean Scorpius knows? What does he know? Please wake up, Rose!"

Hands gently steered me away from her. "She's delirious, Albus. She doesn't know what she's saying." someone said.

I knew she had, though. She knew something and she was trying to tell me what it was.

Madam Pomfrey put a hand on my shoulder. "Go and get some rest, Albus. All of you, actually. You're not going to do your cousin any good by worrying. I'll monitor her very carefully-if there's even the slightest change, you'll be the first ones to know."

I nodded and let James steer me back to the Slytherin common room. He seemed hesitant to leave me alone, as if afraid that I would do something stupid. "Are you going to be okay for the rest of the night?" he asked quietly.

"I guess. I just…can't believe it."

"None of us can. We're going to find out who did this, though-I promise. Okay?"  
"Okay." I said weakly. I didn't really believe him though.

"Here. It's a dreamless sleep potion. Pomfrey said it might help you." James handed me a vial of purple liquid.

"Thanks." I downed it in one gulp and stumbled back to bed. Going to sleep meant a sweet and welcome relief from the mess the world had become.

I couldn't concentrate at all during my classes the next day. Most of the teachers took pity on me and gave me an extra day to finish my homework, though. Even in a huge school like Hogwarts, news travels like wildfire. All day, people shot me sympathetic glances and asked me if there was something they could do to help. It was nice of them, but I just wanted to be alone.

James sat with me at lunch. "You know, you should do your homework in the Gryffindor common room tonight-I think it's best if we all stick together."

"Vic has choir practice for a few hours, but Dom is coming to our common room. It's just safer, you know?"

"Yeah." And I did.

_Name the three primary inciters of the goblin revolution of 1896 and what became of them._

I wracked my brain, but couldn't think of the answer. I knew we'd studied the revolution that day, but my mind felt slow and sluggish, like it wasn't working right. Normally, I'd ask Rose for the answer, but she wasn't around. I turned to Roxanne. "Do you know what the answer is to number three on our History of Magic assignment?"

"No. I haven't gotten there yet. You're welcome to look at my notes, though."  
"Thanks." I took the sheet of parchment she offered to me and stared at it uncomprehendingly. The notes were there all right-along with pictures of hearts, dragons, and unicorns carefully drawn into the margins. The words were almost impossible to make out.

"Sorry." Roxanne said sheepishly. "I get bored during class."  
"So I noticed."

Just then, I saw that James and Fred were walking up to Scorpius Malfoy. Neither looked happy. I gently tugged on Roxanne's sleeve and gestured at the scene. She nodded and bit her lip worriedly.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" James yelled at him. I'd never seen him this angry with anyone-ever.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius stammered nervously. I couldn't blame him for being nervous. James is one of the tallest in his year and Fred was just selected to be a Beater on the Gryffindor quidditch team.

"Don't give me that. Rose is in a coma. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER AND HOW CAN WE WAKE HER UP?" That was Fred.

Scorpius went even paler, if that was possible. "Rose is in a coma? I didn't do anything, I swear!" He was almost sobbing.

"Did you think that it would be funny? You threatened us last night. You obviously knew this was going to happen. DID YOU DO IT?"

"No, I didn't! I didn't know anything about this! I would never hurt Rose!"

"Did your father tell you about this?"  
"No!"

They looked like they were going to beat him up-until Roxanne stepped forward. "Guys, how could Scorpius have possibly found a way into our dormitory? Boys can't get in to the girls' dormitories-and I don't think Scorpius of all people would have devoted any time or energy to find an alternate way in." Then she turned to Scorpius. Her eyes were almost blazing with fury. "If I hear that you were actually the one responsible, you were in any way involved, you knew this was going to happen, or something like this happens again and you're the culprit, I will personally kill you." She wasn't lying. Scorpius nodded mutely and tore up the stairs to his dormitory.

James collapsed into a seat near the fire. "What are we going to do?"

"Is Rose going to be all right?" Hugo asked. He was practically crying.

"Yes, she'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Fred exchanged glances with James. "How about we sneak down to the kitchens and ask the house elves for some s'mores?" Hugo nodded eagerly. "Who else wants to come?"

Of course, we all did. Roxanne was elected to go ask Lily and Molly if they wanted to go, but she didn't need to. They ran down the stairs to meet us, practically tripping over each other in their haste.

"Look what we found in Rose's bedroom!" Lily cried.

I recognized the wooden bird from across the room.

The next week was absolute agony. After classes, I took my homework to Rose's bedside so I could tell her about the day. I didn't see the point in that really, but it helped me feel better about the whole thing, and Madam Pomfrey said that it would help.

I was talking to Rose about the results of the recent Slytherin/Ravenclaw quidditch game when she came in. "You're such a good cousin, Albus."

"Thanks."

"Yes. There's always one of you in here. Rose is so lucky. Teddy, Victoire, James, Lily, Molly, Hugo, Dominique, Lorcan, Lysander, Fred, Roxanne, Scorpius…"

I felt like someone had just poured a bucket of ice cold water down my spine. "Wait-Scorpius Malfoy? He was…here?"

"Yes, just last night. He comes almost as often as you do, Albus. I'm surprised you don't meet up. Anyway, he was very concerned. Quite the little gentlemen, he is. I wonder why he doesn't have many friends."  
"I don't know." I replied. "He's not that social. I just forgot one of my books in the common room. I have to….go get it right away."

I practically ran from the infirmary as fast as I could.

Why had Scorpius been to see Rose-and why did he care?

I caught up with Scorpius at breakfast the next morning. He looked scared when he saw me-he probably thought that I was going to deck him. "What do you want, Potter?" His nonchalance and annoyance were obviously forced.

"I want to know what you were doing in the hospital wing two days ago."

"I wasn't in the hospital wing. I haven't been there for months, actually-although I might have gone if your brother and cousin had beaten me up, as they so clearly wanted to. You must have me confused with someone else."

I decided to ignore most of his statement. "Madam Pomfrey told me that you had been there, Scorpius."

He sighed. "You're not the only one who's concerned about Rose, you know. I never knew this was going to happen, but I kind of feel responsible for it anyway. I guess I thought that if I hung out with Rose more, I wouldn't feel so bad."

"Why don't you help us find the attacker?" I surprised both of us with my words, but it was too late to take them back.

"Your cousins would kill me."

"Not if I tell them not to. We could use an inside man, you know. No one would suspect that you'd be helping us. Especially since you're a Malfoy-and Malfoys and Potters don't really get along."

He considered the prospect for a few minutes, but then nodded solemnly. "All right. For Rose."

We clinked glasses of pumpkin juice. "For Rose."  
**Next chapter: Research…and possibly another attack! Read to find out….:) **


	13. Roxanne

**Chapter 13 coming right up!**

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Chapter 13-Roxanne

Today was Valentine's Day, but I was anything but cheery. The attacks were wearing on all of us, especially since there hadn't been a new one for a while now. We were all waiting for the attacker to strike-and to see who would be the next victim. I tried to listen to what our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dixon, was saying, but I had bigger things to worry about. My cousins were dropping into mysterious comas one by one. I had to figure out why. I flipped the pages in my notebook until I was studying the list I'd written a few weeks earlier. I'd long since memorized it by heart.

It was a list of Death Eaters: Rabastan Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber Macnair, and Amycus Carrow. Any one of these people might be responsible for the attacks. I felt that the best-and probably safest-bet would be to find out more about them.

"Miss Weasley? Are we paying attention?"

I snapped back to the present. Professor Dixon was studying me disapprovingly over the top of her desk. I had the uncomfortable feeling that she knew what I'd been writing.

"Yes Ma'am." I said softly. I didn't like Professor Dixon. She knew a lot about what she was teaching to be sure-maybe too much? I wasn't sure what about her seemed off, but I was never comfortable in her classroom. My fears were completely unfounded. She was relatively nice to everyone and she'd never given me any trouble.

"May I see your notes?"

I handed my roll of parchment forward for her to inspect. She looked it over silently. There was nothing for her to criticize-I really had been taking notes.

"See that you do your assignments in this neat a hand, please." she said almost scornfully as she passed it back to me.

"Yes, Professor Dixon." I was secretly glad when she turned around to write something on the board, happy to be out of her view.

I shivered as I sketched the rough outlines of a unicorn into the margins of my paper. That lady gave me the creeps.

Hogwarts goes all out on Valentine's Day. Sitting in the Great Hall for lunch I was showered by rose petals as all the students were serenaded by some cupids. I rolled my eyes and brushed the flowers out of my dark hair.

"Why'd you do that, Roxie?" Albus asked. "It looked nice."

"You think?" I replied sarcastically.

He shrugged and took a bite of his turkey sandwich. "Heard you got called out in class by Professor Dixon."

"Ugh. Don't remind me. The woman is horrible."

"I think she's nice."

"I don't know what it is about her. Maybe I'm just overly suspicious, but…I think she might be hiding something."

Albus shook his head. "You're getting paranoid."

"Better paranoid than in a coma." Then I realized what I'd said. "Sorry, Albus."

He sighed. "It's fine. I heard Fred and James are hosting a Valentine's Day party in the Room of Requirement later. Want to come?"

"No thanks. I have some work to do in the library."

Albus immediately looked concerned. "The Roxanne Weasley I know would never turn down an excuse for a party. Who are you, imposter, and what have you done with my cousin?"

I laughed. "If you must know, I'm doing some research on a project _outside of school_."

He knew that I was using the code words for our investigation. "I'll come with you."

"No, you should go enjoy the party. I heard the boys may be procuring a chocolate fountain." Albus is a sucker for fondue.

"But…you can't go alone."

"I'll take Molly." Molly doesn't really like sugar.

"You need someone older."

"Albus…."

"Forget it. I'll ask Dom. Is that all right?"

"If you must." Secretly, I was a little relieved. To have an extra person helping us out would be very helpful, especially since the Hogwarts library is absolutely massive.

"Okay. Meet in the library at seven, okay? And be back no later than nine."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

That night, I arrived in the library to realize that Dom and Molly had already secured a table where we could work. "Thanks." I said gratefully as I slid into a seat next to them.

"Anytime." Dom pushed a book across the table so that I could see. It was a large book, fairly new. The title was Famous Death Eaters of the Twentieth Century and it looked extremely promising. I eagerly dove in. The book consisted of small entries on the Death Eaters, in alphabetical order.

_Amycus and Alecto Carrow: Brother and sister, what these two Death Eaters lack in brains, they more than make up for in brawn. They are especially fond of using the Cruciatus curse. After a short career as teachers at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they went into hiding and retreated from the public eye. They have not been seen since the Second Wizarding War. Rated: Highly dangerous_

_Antonin Dolohov: One of the most dangerous Death Eaters, Dolohov graduated Head Boy after seven years at Hogwarts. He was known for having an insatiable flair for the dramatic. Extremely bright, he was fond of making and perfecting his own spells-some of which have no known counter curse. He is still at large in Britain today. Rated: Extremely dangerous. _

_Rabastan Lestrange: Like his older brother, Rodolphus, Lestrange is very smart, ruthless, and cunning. As a Death Eater, he had a reputation of killing anything but birds, which he loved and had a large aviary for. He escaped capture after the Final Battle. Rated: Extremely dangerous._

_Mulciber Macniar: Before Macniar became a Death Eater, he was a ruthless executioner. Under this façade, he is rumored to be able to kill with anything, though his preferred weapon is an ax. He is still at large. Rated: Highly dangerous._

I finished taking notes and glanced at my findings. The victims had been hit with an unknown curse-which could certainly be the work of Dolohov. However, there was also the matter of the culprit's calling card- a wooden bird, so it could be Lestrange as well. They'd also have to be very smart to find a way to sneak into Hogwarts, one of the most secure buildings in the country-unless there was an accomplice inside the school itself. I shivered. That idea was almost too terrible to think about. I grabbed another book (Death Eaters after the Second Wizarding War) and got ready to write some more.

_After Voldemort was killed by Harry Potter during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Death Eaters scattered. Most of them were rounded up and sentenced to life in Azkaban. However, a few still roam free, living in the shadows and interacting with no one-least of all each other. Just as they had each other's backs while Voldemort was in power, they will not hesitate to turn each other in today._

Whoever was doing this wasn't working with another Death Eater. That was some good news, at least.

Just then, there was a rustle in the stacks and I spun around to see a green dress disappear around a nearby corner-Professor Dixon. I bit my lip. My suspicions had been aroused. "What is she doing here?" I muttered.

"What's who doing here?" Dom asked absentmindedly. She was immersed in her book, twirling a lock of red hair around one of her fingers as she read.

"Professor Dixon."

"Could be getting books for class."

"Yeah. Could be." That was the logical explanation-but I didn't believe it. "I'll be right back."

"You're not going to follow her, are you?"

"Of course not."

Carefully, I slipped away, following the Professor at a safe distance. She was heading for the Forbidden section.

"What are you doing?"

The voice behind me made me jump about four feet in the air. "Molly, what are you doing here?" I hissed furiously.

"I got bored-and it looked like you were doing something more interesting than reading."

Furiously, I glanced around for the teacher, but she had disappeared among the books. "I was…never mind. Let's head back before Dom starts to worry, okay?"

"Okay." Molly said amiably. She followed me back to the table. Dom was still reading. I wondered if she'd even noticed that we'd left. That was one thing that Vic, Dom, and Louis all had in common: when they read, they _read_.

"Find anything interesting?" she asked unconcernedly.

"Nope." I sighed, slumping into my chair.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's 8: 49. We should get back. You never know what mood the staircases are going to be in."

Hogwarts seemed quieter than usual. No students were rushing back to their dormitories, or talking in loud voices. Everything was silent. I started to feel uncomfortable. That feeling only increased after Dom left for the Ravenclaw common room. "Bye guys." she said, waving.

"Bye." I tried to sound upbeat.

We were alone.

We'd been walking for a while when I first heard the footsteps on the tile-the footsteps that weren't ours. I slowed down. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Molly asked.

"The footsteps."

"What footsteps?"

"Never mind." They'd stopped. Maybe I'd imagined them, though I didn't think that was it. I started to walk again, hearing the footsteps start up again as well. There was no doubt in my mind that someone was following us. Thankfully, we were getting close to Gryffindor Tower. I slowly picked up the pace, until I was practically running. Molly easily kept pace with me.

"I hear them, too." she said after a while, completely out of the blue. "The footsteps, I mean."

"Thank goodness we're almost back."

Just then, a jet of red light narrowly missed me. That was enough for me. I started to sprint down the corridor as more spells flew past. We ran faster. Molly glanced back once, looking troubled.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"Someone's back there. I can't see their face though."

I could see the familiar portrait that guarded the entrance to the tower. We were almost there….

Then Molly shrieked, skidded on the slick floor, and crumpled to the ground. I knelt next to her, already knowing that it would be too late. "Molly? Molly, wake up." I hissed.

She didn't. She'd been hit with a spell.

I looked back, wild with panic. I didn't need to, though. The hallways were deserted. I tried to get Molly up the stairs and into the common room without losing it.

Not only had one of my favorite cousins been attacked but the attacker had gotten away again.

**Next chapter: Scorpius gets involved**.


	14. Scorpius 2

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited!**

Chapter 14-Scorpius

I couldn't sleep the night of February fourteenth. I tossed and turned for hours, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong. Reluctantly, I woke up Harold Creevey, who has the bed next to mine. He'd always been decent to me.

"What is it?" Harold asked, not fully awake yet.

"Do you have…some kind of feeling that something really bad has happened?"

"No, of course not. Why?"

"I don't know. I just…can't sleep."

He smiled. "Well, that's easily explained. You had too much sugar today. It's keeping you up. Don't worry, mate. It happens to all of us." He sighed and turned over. Soon, his breathing evened out and I knew that he was asleep again.

Just then, there was a loud crash in the common room. I jumped to my feet and was out the door in minutes.

Roxanne Weasley was staggering through the portrait hole, trying to support a limp Molly as well. "Help me, please!" she cried. "It's my cousin-she's been attacked!"

I hurried over and helped her prop Molly up in a chair facing the fire. Everyone still in the common room looked on with interest and concern. "What happened?" someone asked.

"I don't know. We were followed on the way back from the library, and someone shot her with some kind of spell." Roxanne was beside herself. I felt bad for her.

Just then, the rest of her family swarmed in, and there was a whole lot of noise and hassle for the rest of the night. Even after Molly had been safely delivered to the hospital wing, no one could sleep. The common room was filled until dawn, full of people gossiping and trading theories. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep, so I tried to read a book instead. I noticed Harold whispering with a group of third years. They all glanced at me every now and then. I swore silently. I should've known better than to trust him.

I ate breakfast half asleep, really having to concentrate to make sure that the spoon made it into my mouth. I couldn't focus on the book we were supposed to have read for homework. Instead, I found myself listening to a group of teachers who were talking in low voices nearby.

"This is the fifth attack on the family to date-and the third in two months. Something has to be done." Professor Scamander was saying. His face was very white. "For now, they're trying to instill fear in us. How long do we have until someone turns up dead?"

"They're safer here than they are at home, but the fact of the matter is that they aren't safe anywhere." Professor Longbottom agreed.

"We have to approach the situation calmly. For now, only the Weasley-Potters are in danger, but if Death Eaters really are on the rise and trying to harm students, anyone could be the next target. For the moment, we should suspend classes."

"The question we should be asking ourselves is how can we prevent these attacks? How do we stop whoever's doing this from getting in?" Professor Flitwick cut in.

Professor Scamander shook his head. "It's an inside job. Has to be. We should interview all of the school's staff members. Maybe they know something or know someone who does." He lowered his voice a couple of notches. "It's the least we can do. These kids have been through a lot, especially over the past few months. I was at Louis Weasley's funeral. No parent should have to bury their child. I don't want anything like that to happen to any of them ever again."

"No doubt you have honorable intentions, Professor Scamander, but this Death Eater is smart. We're doing everything we can to catch and capture him, as I'm sure you know, but he's doing everything in his power to evade us."

The day was torture. All the Gryffindors spent the day cooped up in the common room. It was impossible to get any work done. I mostly just listened to their conversations while I tried to read a book. It wasn't easy though. I kept losing my place and having to start over again. I hadn't flipped a page in an hour at least. I glanced across the room at the Weasley-Potters. They were all glaring at me. They thought it was my fault.

Fed up with the whole thing, I penned a quick note home. Maybe Dad would know something we didn't.

Dear Mum and Dad,

How are you? I'm doing all right, but I'm in a bit of a tough spot at school. Nothing to worry about, but I have to know: who's been attacking the Weasley-Potters? Dad, I know you didn't get along with Harry and the Weasleys while you were at school, but the attacks are having serious effects on the whole school, not just the family. Are there really other Death Eaters out there? Who are they and what are they planning to do? Thanks in advance.

Much love,

Scorpius

I hurried up to the owlery to borrow an owl. I watched it fly away with my letter and bit my lip nervously. I really hoped I'd get a response soon.

Thankfully, I got a reply the next day.

Dear Scorpius,

Thank you for your letter. As to your question, I don't know who the attacker is. After my trial, I stayed out of dark wizard circles. I haven't seen any former Death Eaters in almost a decade. However, I do know a few things that you may find interesting.

Antonin Dolohov was spotted in Hogsmeade village two weeks before the first attack at Hogwarts.

Mulciber Macnair hasn't been seen in this country since the second War.

It seems that the remaining Death Eaters, whoever they might be, are about to stage a unity movement. Someone asked me in Diagon Alley if I wanted to attend. I didn't recognize the man by face or voice, but I am happy to say that I declined.

I hope this information helps you. I'm sorry I can't do more. I will keep my eyes and ears open and pass along any new information I hear. Stay safe yourself, son. If the attacker really is a Death Eater, you all could be in danger.

With much love,

Dad

P.S. Mum sends her love.

A Death Eater Unity movement? That couldn't be good.

"Ugh." I sighed. I still felt so far from a conclusion.

Just then, the little Weasley boy slid in next to me, drinking a glass of pumpkin juice. If I remembered correctly, his name was Hugo-Rose's little brother. My heart jumped painfully. There had been no change in Rose's condition-for better or for worse. "Hi." he said.

"Hi." I replied.

"Did you curse my sister?"

"No."

"Fred, James, and Lysander said that you did."

"I didn't. I would never hurt a person-least of all your sister."

"She talked about you, over winter break."

My blood ran cold. "Really? What did she say?"

"She said you were nice and that she didn't see why people gave you such a hard time. She also said that you were an amazing artist-especially with dragons."

My heart sped up a little faster, the way it always did when I thought about Rose. "Did she really say that?"

"Yeah. My parents don't like your dad." he continued matter-of-factly.

"Why not?"

"They said that your dad really liked to give them and Uncle Harry a hard time when they were all at school together. He was really mean. Anyway, Rose said that you knew something that could help her. She said that you could help our family."

A warmth spread down my spine. It felt surprisingly tingly, like feathers. "I'll do what I can."

Hugo nodded. "I know you will. Rose liked you, so I do, too. Can you draw me a picture of a Chinese Fireball? They're my favorite kinds of dragons."

"Um…sure. Do you want it…tonight?"

"Yeah! See you then!" Hugo ran over to sit with his cousins again.

Great. Now I had two people that I couldn't disappoint.

That night, I went to visit Rose in the hospital wing again. Just like all the other times I'd been to see her, she hadn't changed a bit.

"Well, hello again." I said, pulling up a chair. "It's me, Scorpius. I talked to your little brother, today. He said that I could help you, but I don't know what he means. I can't help you. I don't know who did this, and I can't find out.

"It's been horrible. No one trusts me anymore-not that they ever did before the incidents, of course. I wish you'd wake up and tell people that I'm not so bad, but you can't. You're the only one who thinks that, in any case."

Just then, Madame Pomfrey came in holding a tray of green potions. "Scorpius? What are you doing up here? It's late. Shouldn't you be heading back to your common room by now?"

I stood up hurriedly. "Um, yeah. I just….forgot to give Rose her schoolbooks earlier."

She smiled. "That's nice. I hate to tell you this, but visiting hours are over for the day."

I guessed that she was making that up, but I wasn't about to test my theory. I nodded and headed for the door, head down. I didn't look up as I passed Molly or her sister, who'd been moved from St. Mungo's two weeks ago.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes?" I asked, stopping in the doorway.

"You'll be coming again tomorrow, won't you?"

I made a split second decision. "Yeah. I'll be here."

"Copy the following incantation into your books, class."

I glanced up at the white board, where a piece of chalk was writing the spell that would change a water pitcher into a serving platter. I then focused on my piece of parchment, trying to write as neatly as I could while ignoring the stares that constantly followed me around the school.

Just then, there was a loud bang coming from the window. Heads turned to see what it was. It turned out an owl was hovering just outside, holding a letter and hooting loudly.

Professor Patil opened the window, shaking her head. "Go to the owlery! Shoo!" she told the owl, waving her hands. The owl brushed right past her and soared into the classroom, to the cheers and applause of the other students. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my notes-at least until the owl came to a stop in front of me, knocking over my bottle of ink. He extended its beak, clearly telling me to take the letter. So I did, well aware that everyone's eyes were on me.

The letter read:

Scorpius,

I have urgent news that I must give you. Through my sources, I have learned that someone will try to attack Hugo Weasley tonight. You must warn him as soon as possible.

From,

Dad

Immediately, I stumbled to my feet, feeling faint. "Professor, I don't feel so well. May I go to the hospital wing?" I coughed loudly to complete the illusion.

I don't think she bought it, but she shook her head ruefully. "If you must. Feel better soon, Scorpius."

"Thank you, Professor."

I gathered my books and tore out of the classroom, desperate to find James. I would have to work quickly if I didn't want Hugo to become the next victim.

**Next chapter: The attempt-or attack**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!**


	15. James 2

**Review, follow, and favorite!**

Chapter 15-James

When you're friends with kids like Fred and Lysander, there's no such thing as a peaceful meal.

For example, tonight Fred had brought a deck of Exploding Snap cards down to dinner with him. "Who's up for a round?" he said, dealing out some cards to all of us.

"Fred, aren't we actually supposed to eat during dinner?" Lysander asked.

Fred shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. We can play while we eat."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Lorcan protested. For once I agreed with him. "The last thing you want are those cards ending up in your pumpkin juice."

"Fine, you don't have to play. Lysander? James?"

"I'm in." Lysander replied good-naturedly.

"Then I guess I am, too. Just let me get some more juice." I stood up to refill my cup.

I 'happened' to be standing next to Scorpius Malfoy. I was content to ignore him, but he yanked on my sleeve until I looked at him. He was as white as a sheet. "You have to move Hugo. He can't sleep with you tonight."

"What do you mean?"

He shoved a letter into my hands. "Read this." So I did. I read it twice, actually, glancing from it to Scorpius and back again.

"How do I know this isn't some dumb trick?" I wouldn't put it past a Malfoy to do something like that.

"You don't, but please trust me. Please. I don't want to see Hugo get hurt."

I bit my lip and made a decision, though I still wasn't sure if it was the right one. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

For the first time in living memory, Scorpius Malfoy smiled.

"What's up, mate? You look like you've seen a ghost." Fred said, looking concerned.

I quickly filled them in on what Scorpius had told me.

"You're not seriously thinking about listening to him, are you?"

"Yeah. He's obviously trying to get your goat." Lysander chimed in.

"I don't know, guys. He looked really, really worried. I've never seen him look like that before."

"Of course he's worried!" Fred cried. "Everyone thinks he's responsible-and with good reason, too."

"What do you think, Lorcan?" I asked. He'd been strangely quiet for the entire meal.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure what to think. Maybe he really does want to help us."

"Do you think we should trust him?"

"I would. I mean, it's not like we have anything to lose. Better safe than sorry, am I right?"

"Yeah. I think you are."

"Oh come on! Why are you listening to him all of a sudden?" Lysander protested indignantly.

"Because he's the only one that has some sense left! I'm going to go find Dom." I walked away from my friends and over to the Ravenclaw table, where I easily found Dom and her friends.

"Hey Dom. Can I talk to you?" I asked.

She looked surprised, but nodded. It's not common for us to mix during meals. She followed me out of the Great Hall and into a small alcove near the front doors. "What is it?" she asked. "Was someone else attacked?"

"No, not yet. Listen, is it all right if Hugo spends the night in Ravenclaw tonight?"

She looked taken aback for a second but eventually nodded. "Yeah, sure. That's fine."

"So, I'll drop him off later, okay? Thanks a lot, by the way."

"No problem. Yeah, I don't have anything going on tonight, so I'll be in the common room. You know the riddle, right?"

"Of course. See you then."

"Yeah. See you then."

I started to walk away-at least until Dom called me back. "Wait, James. What's going on? What do you know?"

I glanced around. "I guess we're far enough away." Quickly, I filled her in.

Her eyes went wide. "Are you sure you heard him right?"

"Positive."

"Are you sure you and your friends are going to be okay? I mean, what if the attacker comes and attacks one of you instead?"

I grit my teeth. "I'm trying not to think about it."

That night I told Hugo "You're going to sleep in the Ravenclaw common room tonight with Dom! How does that sound?"

He smiled. "Good, but why can't I sleep with you?"

"Because…I have a big test tomorrow and I want to make sure I get good sleep. No offense, but you toss and turn-a lot."

"Okay, so you don't want to tell me. That's all right. But seriously-James wants to sleep the night before a big test? That's crazy." Hugo laughed out loud.

Dang. The kid knows me too well.

Just then, Lily came over to us. "Hi James."

"Hi Lily. How are you?"

"Good. Is Hugo going to Ravenclaw tonight?"

"Yeah, he is. Just for the night, though."

"Can I come too?"

"I don't see why not, as long as it's okay with Dom."

"I'm sure it will be. Right Hugo?"

Hugo nodded. "This is going to be a lot of fun!"

"Yeah." I said weakly_. I hope so at least…_

At exactly 8:45, I knocked on the door to the Ravenclaw common room, Hugo and Lily in tow. "What goes up but never comes down?" the door asked.

"Oh, I don't need to go in. I'm just waiting for someone." I answered. I always avoided going into other people's common rooms if I could help it.

"Suit yourself."

After about five minutes, the door opened and Dom came out to meet us. "Sorry! I got a little caught up in my History of Magic assignment. We're learning about the Salem witch trials-fascinating stuff, really."

"You and Rose should hang out more often."

She laughed out loud. "Yeah, I guess we should." She smiled at Hugo and Lily. "Hey guys. Ready?"

"Yeah! Bye James!" Lily called.

"Bye Lily. Bye Hugo." I couldn't help feeling a little nervous as Dom shut the door, though I wasn't sure why. They'd have a great time tonight-wouldn't they?

Later that night I tossed and turned long after my friends had gone to sleep. That's why I was awake when it happened.

Across the room, close to the bed where Fred lay sleeping soundly, the window carefully slid open. A dark figure stepped into the room, appraising it carefully. He began to walk around, stopping for a few moments at each bed. He stopped for a full minute at the empty bed where Hugo normally slept. I breathed a sigh of relief. Our plan had gone undetected-for now, at least. I counted my timing carefully-and then I jumped.

With one hand I grabbed the man's hair and with the other a handful of his clothes. "Fred! Lysander! Lorcan! Wake up!" I yelled, frantically trying to hold on as the man balked, trying to throw me off.

I heard them moving around and then Fred flipped the light switch on. Fred and Lysander both jumped on the man as well. Fred was yelling "Get the wand! Get the wand!" On the other side of the room, Lorcan was standing in front of the window to bar it, holding a lamp out in front of him like a weapon. We almost had him subdued-until I felt a burning sensation in my hands. Soon, it became so bad that I had to let go. Fred yelled in pain and I saw Lysander go flying across the room. I landed face down on my bed and scrambled to my feet, in time to see the man cuff Lorcan over the head, push him aside, and leap back out the window.

"Is anyone hurt?" Fred said.

"Everyone present and accounted for?" Lysander chimed in.

I had burns on both hands that hurt like mad. Fred had similar injuries and Lysander had a long scar that ran all the way down his leg. Lorcan was doing the worst though as he was out cold.

Lysander ran over to his brother. "Lorcan! Lorcan, wake up!"

We all crowded around him. Fred took a pulse. "He's just unconscious, Ly. He'll be all right."

At that moment, Lorcan groaned and opened his eyes. "Ly? Is that you?"

"Yeah. It's me. Are you all right?" Lysander replied.

"Mostly. He got me pretty good on the head…hurts." We were already starting to lose him again.

"Don't worry. We'll be okay. What you did was amazing, though. Really brilliant, if I do say so myself. Right guys?"

"Right." we agreed.

"Is Hugo okay?'

"We think so." I replied.

"Good." With that, Lorcan closed his eyes and lost consciousness again.

"We should get him to the hospital wing." Fred said, taking charge. We were all very calm, considering what had happened only minutes before.

"We should all go to the hospital wing. Some of this stuff looks pretty nasty." Lysander replied.

We stood up, Lysander and Fred supporting Lorcan, and started the long walk to the hospital wing. We didn't bother to wake Teddy. There was no need to worry him. Things had worked out fine.

"Did you see his face?" I asked, wondering if we could get some good out of the encounter.

"Barely. He had brown eyes." Lysander said.

I opened my hand and revealed a fistful of brown hair. "I have this."

"We have to go see McGonagall or Dad. They'll know what to do."

Fred shook his head. "Not to be a stick-in-the-mud or anything, guys, but these burns kind of hurt."

Two hours later, Fred, the twins, and I were lying in beds in the hospital wing. Burn cream soothed my sore hands as I talked with Lysander and Fred. Lorcan slept peacefully. A group of teachers was standing near the edge of our beds.

Just then, Teddy, Vic, Albus, and Roxanne burst into the infirmary. "What happened?" Teddy asked. "Someone said you'd been attacked."

"More like we attacked them." Fred said proudly.

"Now this I have to hear."

"I think we all do." said Professor Scamander. "Explain what happened-and start from the very beginning." I noticed that he was eyeing Lorcan worriedly.

Taking turns, we started from Scorpius's letter and ended with the outcome of the fight. Lysander and I didn't let Fred talk much. If he had his way, he'd say that we turned into ninjas and would have gotten Dolohov if he hadn't turned into a bird and flown out the window. I had a feeling that most kids in the year would be hearing that version of the story the next day.

"Go to the Ravenclaw dormitories and see that both of your cousins and your sister are safe." Professor Flitwick told Victoire. She nodded and left, looking nervous. Then Flitwick turned to us. "What you boys did was incredibly foolish and dangerous, but it also demonstrated a great amount of courage. I think… a reward of twenty five points to Gryffindor-each-is in order. However, in future, please do not attempt something like that again."

We nodded and then I shared high-fives with Fred and Lysander. One hundred points!

The door opened again and Vic came back in. "They're all fine. They'll be up soon."

"Save it until tomorrow morning. These boys need their sleep." Scamander replied. So, reluctantly, we fell back to sleep one by one as the guests trickled out of the room. Before I tried to sleep, I got a really good look at the hair in my hand, turning it over and over in my palm as I tried to figure out where I'd seen it before-because I knew I had.

Then it came to me in a flash. I'd seen it on a wanted poster a long time ago.

The hair belonged to a wanted Death Eater named Antonin Dolohov.

**Next chapter: Strange disappearances**

**Be sure to check out my one shot for this story, ****Meeting Louis Weasley****. I've been thinking of writing a series of one shots that take place before this story, mostly about the cousins and how they interact with each other. Good idea? Terrible? Let me know in a review. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Teddy

**I've been publishing this story for exactly a month! On to chapter 16!**

**Also, I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks so I most likely won't be able to post any new chapters. I might be able to get one up on Saturday morning though. **

**Be sure to tell me what you think of the idea of a book of one shots. Your feedback really makes my day. **

**I plan to make this a series of seven books, one for each of Albus, Rose, and Roxanne's years at Hogwarts. **

**I'll shut up now so you can read the chapter :) **

Chapter 16-Teddy

Sometimes, it was hard to remember that this was still a normal school year. There was so much going on and so much to think about. However, in spite of everything, I was still taking my O.W.L.s at the end of the year-and my grandmother expected good grades. My teachers were drilling all the fifth years hard, and I had less time to hang out with my cousins than I would have liked.

The attacks seemed to have stopped completely after Fred, James, and the twins caught Dolohov. Although Lucy, Molly, and Rose didn't get any better, they didn't get any worse.

Easter break was drawing closer and Victoire invited me to spend the entire break at her house, Shell Cottage. Of course, I accepted. Not only is Shell Cottage a great place on the edge of the sea, but I'm good friends with Vic. We've been best friends for years. I know which colors she loves (purple and green), and which color she wouldn't be caught dead in (magenta). I know what she worries about (Dom), what she cares for most in the world (Dom), and what she can't live without (Dom)-especially after the summer.

Maybe I'm making too big a deal about her.

Anyway, I was looking forward to a week free from studying, pressure, and constant pretests.

The break started out great, right from the ride on the Hogwarts Express.

"Anyone got any plans for over the holidays?" Roxanne asked. She was scribbling something on a piece of parchment-probably trying to get a little bit of her homework done.

"Quidditch!" James, Albus, Fred, Lysander, and Lorcan called simultaneously. They exchanged high fives, chatting loudly. I remembered that George had managed to get them all tickets to a Wimbourne Wasps game. They'd been talking about it nonstop for weeks. Fred and James had even sent away for a catalogue so they could buy merchandise.

"So I've heard." Dom said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on! You should totally come!" James cried. "You'll have a lot of fun."

"Well…maybe I will." Dom said grudgingly. She would never admit it to anyone, especially not the boys, but she's a Quidditch freak. I'd be willing to bet that she knows more about it than all the boy cousins combined.

"Yeah, you're great at Quidditch! Why aren't you on a house team?" Lysander piped up.

He wasn't lying. Dom is a really good Chaser. However, she's always been too nervous to try out. She said she might next year, so we're holding her to her word.

"I just don't want to, okay?" Dom asked.

"What about you, Vic?" Lorcan asked.

"Staying home. I have some paintings that I want to finish."

"Can I have one?" Lily asked. "Can you make a nice picture of the sunset over the water for me?"

"Sure." Vic smiled, ruffling her cousin's hair.

It's at times like these when I wish I was a real member of the family, instead of the family's plus one. They all just fit together so well, like pieces in a puzzle. Sometimes I feel like the one piece from a different puzzle that I try to force to fit the puzzle. It doesn't work though.

For a while, we weren't sure if we were actually going home for the break. Of course, we all wanted to, but our parents were worried that the attacks might start again. Eventually, we compromised by heightening security at each of our homes. Let's hope there's not another Azkaban breakout over the holidays because almost all of the Ministry's aurors will be stationed at our houses.

"Wizard chess! Place your bets here!" Fred shoved his chessboard so it was right in front of me. "Who'll win? Me or Teddy? Place your bets! Place your bets!" He passed an old brown hat around the circle of cousins. One by one, they each put something inside. Lily gave a knut, Hugo a few jacks, James a marble, Dom a few sheets of paper, Vic a felt mitten, Albus and Roxanne old quill pens, and the twins pairs of (new) socks. It was one of our oldest traditions: we bet using whatever we could find, usually not money.

For the rest of the journey we played games of wizard chess. Those who weren't playing watched the game, ate candy from the trolley, and just talked. I felt more relaxed than I had all year. The Hogwarts Express was safe, at least. Nothing could hurt us here.

Bill and Fleur met us at King's Cross Station. They'd managed to borrow a ministry car for the short drive back to Shell Cottage. Dom chattered away the whole drive, talking about her grades, classes, teachers, and the new best friend she'd made-Maggie Wood. Thankfully, Fleur had a bunch of questions of her own and wanted to know everything about the school year. Was I studying like I should? Did we get a lot of homework? She kept us talking all through dinner.

After the meal, Victoire pulled on my sleeve. "Do you want to work on some homework in my room?" We still had quite a bit of homework to get done before the start of term, though not as much as usual.

"Sure."

Vic's room hadn't changed much in the two years since I'd last seen it. The walls were still painted a shade of light purple and there were still the same pictures of cats and other animals on her walls. In fact, the only thing that was really different was the large picture of Louis on the wall across from her bed. It showed him in his last year of primary school, smiling cockily for the camera. Someone had lit a candle under it. I bit my lip. Obviously the grief still hadn't gone away.

We'd been working for about thirty minutes when Dom walked in. She was holding her Arithmancy textbook, a piece of parchment, and a quill pen. "Hey guys! Can I work here, too?"

"No. Go away, Dom." Vic said automatically.

I could see Dom's face fall, though it was almost imperceptible. However I'd known Dom almost as long as I'd known Vic, so I could read her moods. "Okay. Bye." she said, walking away.

"That wasn't very nice." I chided Vic.

"I know. I just see her every day and I…lost it, I guess. I'm not proud."

"That's all right. Do you want to go and apologize to her?"

"No. She'll be fine tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't she?"

"I don't know. She seemed pretty put out."

Vic hesitated for a moment. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Don't worry about it, Teddy." She bent back over her work, writing furiously.

Looking back on it, I should have said something to Dom. Maybe I could have said that I'd hang out with her later, which I was of course planning to do. But I didn't. I kept doing my homework. In the end, that made all the difference in the world.

Dom slept in Louis's room that night, sprawled out on the soft blue rug in the middle of the floor. A pile of textbooks lay stacked haphazardly two inches from her head.

The next day I took a walk along the beach with Vic. Later, we took a picnic up to Sorrel Point, a large hill that has a great view of the Cottage and the sea. Dom tried to join us, but Vic wouldn't let her.

"Dom." I called after her as she walked away. "Want to build sand castles later?"

She perked up right away. "Okay. See you then!" She practically ran down the sand dune.

Vic shook her head, smiling. "Well played, Mr. Lupin. Well played."

"Thank you, Miss Weasley."

"You know, Janice Knott fancies you." She was skillfully avoiding my eyes.

"Really? I thought she was already with Jorah MacMillan."

"No. They broke up a couple of weeks ago."

"Well, I never liked her."

"Are you sure?"

"Extremely sure."

She looked away, but she was smiling broadly.

"Vic, do you fancy me?" I asked matter-of-factly.

"No. What makes you say that?"

"You're a rubbish liar. You know that, right?"  
"Oh shove off."

The next morning, I was woken up at the crack of dawn by the arrival of George, Fred, Albus, James, Lysander, and Lorcan. They were on their way to the Quidditch match and had dropped by to see if Dom had changed her mind and wanted to come. Of course she had and did. It took about two hours to feed them all and send them on their way and when they were finally gone the house seemed silent-more so than it had before.

Vic and I were on the beach the entire day-at least until Fleur declared we'd had more than enough time in the sun and made us come inside. After that we stayed in Vic's room until the others came back from their quidditch game. Dom was flushed and elated, covered in the merchandise the cousins had decked her out in. "That. Was. Amazing!" she cried, flinging herself down onto Vic's bed.

"So you had fun then?" I asked.

"It was amazing."

"Are you sure you don't want to try out for Chaser? You'd do a really good job-I know you would. Right Vic?"

Vic didn't glance up from the magazine that she was reading. "Sure." she replied.

Dom looked hurt. "Um, do you want to go build those sand castles now, Teddy?" she asked.

Vic shook her head. "Dom, can't you see we're busy? Go away."

"You're always busy!" Dom cried. "Ever since this summer, you haven't had time for me. You liked Louis better than you like me. Sure. Say you don't have enough time for me. I don't believe you." She swept out of the room and slammed the door so hard that it rattled in its frame.

"I don't want to talk to her right now." Vic replied in answer to my unasked question.

"Why not? What's going on between the two of you? You're always so close."

"I don't know. I guess we've just…grown apart over the course of the year."

I patted her back in what I hoped was a comforting and brotherly fashion. "It'll get better. It always does."

She sighed. "I really hope you're right."

The next morning I slept in until eight, but I wasn't the only late riser. Fleur has this thing where she doesn't serve breakfast until everyone's up. Usually we're stuck waiting on Bill, whose job at Gringotts makes him work long hours, but today we were waiting for Dom. No one was worried, though I thought it was just a little unusual. Dom is usually an early riser. Finally, around noon, Fleur sighed and threw some more pancakes on the griddle. The smell of the breakfast food was really making me salivate. "I guess we should just call it brunch now. Vic, would you mind telling your sister to get up before her food gets cold?"

"Sure." Vic trooped upstairs. A few minutes later, we could hear her piercing scream all the way on the next floor. I hit the staircase running.

"What's wrong?" I practically yelled, throwing open the door to Dom's room.

"It's Dom. She's gone."

Immediately I saw her cause for concern. Dom's bed was neatly made. Everything in her room was clean and in its place-but the room itself was empty. The only clue we could find to her whereabouts was a single note lying on her floral pillowcase:

Dear family and Teddy,

By the time you read this, I will be miles away. Obviously I am not needed at home, so I have decided to go out and find Dolohov on my own. Maybe then you'll learn to appreciate me.

Yours,

Dominique

My blood ran cold. Dom was like a little sister to me. If something happened to her…

"How could she have gotten away?" Bill asked. "Wouldn't the Aurors have seen her leave? She can't Apparate, she can't authorize a Portkey, and we'd have seen her use Floo powder. Is she on foot?"

"No." Vic said. She looked dizzy, as if she might fall over at any moment.

_This is all my fault,_ I thought.

"We have to find her. If she really is out there alone, she could be in terrible danger."

Just then, I remembered something that Harry had once told me about. It seemed like a crazy idea, but it was the only idea I could think of off the top of my head. "What about the Knight Bus?"

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	17. Victoire 3

**And I'm back! Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with this story! Be sure to follow, favorite, and review!**

**I was on vacation in Florida and went to the new Harry Potter area in Universal Studios-Diagon Alley. It was amazing. There was tons of detail and it looks just like it does in the movies. I also went on the Gringotts ride, which was amazing. I had to wait about an hour, so it really wasn't a long wait at all. Then again, I went first thing when the park opened.**

**Anyway….on to the chapter! **

Chapter 17-Victoire

I tossed and turned, trying to get some sleep. I couldn't, though I'd tried every technique in the book: happy thoughts, counting sheep, and counting backwards from one hundred. Dom had been missing for almost twelve hours, and we had yet to find a trace of her-whether good or bad. Dad had talked to the conductors on the Knight Bus after Teddy first made the suggestion. They remembered my sister; they'd brought her to Hogsmeade and dropped her off outside the Three Broomsticks.

Filled with renewed hope, we'd rushed to Hogsmeade and searched everywhere a thirteen-year-old could possibly go. We even checked the school, but Dom was nowhere to be found. Now, I was starting to fear the worst. What if something happened to her? It would be all my fault.

I glanced up at the clock on my nightstand, still wide awake. It showed that it was 1: 12 in the morning. I groaned and rolled over. Dom could be anywhere. She could be hurt or she could be in trouble and we'd be none the wiser.

I started to cry. She'd felt left out because I was spending all my time with Teddy. She'd asked to join us, but I'd shut her out-repeatedly. If I could go back and redo things, I would in a heartbeat. It was really bad that I was too late now.

"Vic?"

Teddy stood framed in the doorway to my room, the moonlight shining on his light brown hair.

"Hi, Teddy. What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. I take it you couldn't either."

"I can't stop thinking about Dom. What if she's in trouble? I'm such a horrible big sister."

"No you aren't, Vic. You've taken care of her beautifully for thirteen years. You're allowed mistakes every once in a while, aren't you?"

"I already failed once. Louis died. That's the biggest mistake I've ever made."

"There was nothing you could have done."

"How do you know? What if I'd kept the windows closed that night?"

"Do you really think that closed windows would be enough to keep out a Death Eater?" Teddy thought for a moment. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked as I stood up. Despite the fact that it was late March, there was a definite chill in the air.

"I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"Is it far?"

"Not at all."

He led me to the kitchen and grabbed the old wicker basket my family used to use when we went on picnics in the park years ago. Without turning the light on, he began to pack it with food: some fruit, a loaf of bread, a few sticks of butter, and an entire box of cookies. I knew better than to ask what he was doing or why we were evidently having a picnic at 1:30 in the morning.

He led the way outside. I have a pretty big backyard. It's almost diamond shaped and stretches to the edge of a small forest. There's a natural border of sea grass on one side that cordons off a hill that gradually slopes down to the water's edge. The landscape is also peppered with rocks and bushes, and there's a big shade tree in the exact center. Teddy plopped down under the tree and spread out an old blanket. I sat down next to him as he passed me a slice of buttered bread. "Okay, seriously. Why are we here?" I asked.

"Look up."

I followed his pointing finger up to the sky, which was filled with stars. There had to be millions of them. I sat there in awe, silently finding the few constellations I recognized…the Big Dipper…Ursa Major…Orion…For a long time we just watched the stars in silence.

"There's so many of them." I whispered. I didn't want to disturb the beauty and stillness of the night.

"Yes. They're beautiful. Being outside always helps me to relax. Let's just…stay out here for a while. We can just watch the stars and not think about Dom or Dolohov or anything else. Those things can wait until morning, especially since we aren't doing any good by worrying about them. Dom will come home, Vic. I promise you that we'll find her."

I nodded, wishing that I shared his confidence.

We sat in silence for a long time, occasionally pointing out constellations to each other. I began to feel more and more tired, the stars blurring before me. I lay down on the blanket after a while as weariness rolled over me in waves.

Teddy was working on honing his Metamorphagus ability. As I watched, his hair blurred from green to blue to red to yellow and back again. He smiled when he saw me staring. "I never knew my parents, but I do know that they were good people. They gave their lives defending Hogwarts from Death Eaters. When I use my abilities like this, I feel closer to them. I wish I could have met them so I can tell them how proud I am to be their son and how I wear the name Lupin with pride. I wish I could say that I don't get jealous when I see kids with their parents, but I'd be lying. Grandma is great, but she's not the same, you know?"

"Yes, Teddy. I know exactly what you mean." And I did. I love Hugo, James, Fred, and Albus, but they're not the same as having Louis back again.

He smiled. "Thanks, Vic. Get some sleep. You look exhausted."

"No I'm not-"I was cut off by a huge yawn. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little bit tired…"

"Good night, Vic." Teddy said meaningfully.

"Fine, fine, I'm going…."

When I woke up, I couldn't remember where I was at first. I was lying on a soft blanket, sunlight was warming my face, and birds were singing in the trees. I stretched luxuriously and looked for Teddy as the events of the night came back to me. I still felt a jolt as I thought about Dom, but things didn't seem as dire in the light of the morning sun.

Teddy was standing on a rock near the water, overlooking the shore. I joined him, watching the waves wash over the sand, just as they had done for millions of years. We didn't say anything; we just watched the waves go in and out…

Suddenly, Uncle Charlie came up to us. His face was white and he was shaking with rage. "Where…have…you…two…been?" It was clear that he was trying to keep his temper under control.

"We couldn't sleep. I was just taking Vic out to stargaze." Teddy said. "Why? What is it? Aren't you supposed to be working on that one dragon reservation in Romania?"

"I came as soon as I heard that Dom had gone missing. How do you think your parents felt after yesterday, Vic? They were worried sick. They thought you might have gone missing too!" he raged.

"Oh my gosh…" I thought that I might be sick. "I had no idea…"

Charlie sighed. "Of course you didn't. Kids these days never do. Anyway, it's not me you should be apologizing to. That's not the only new development, though. You'd better come with me-both of you."

For once I didn't mind that Teddy was holding my hand in a death grip.

We followed him inside. Mum was seated at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, while Dad talked to someone through the fireplace grate. Mum let out a little scream when she saw me. With one move, she was out of her chair and had me in a tight embrace. "Victoire Weasley, don't you dare do that again!" she said.

"I'm sorry Mum, I really am. I didn't mean to make you worry. I was just outside with Teddy." I apologized.

She arched one eyebrow curiously but just said "Well, what matters is that you're safe."

"Why? What do you mean?"

She turned to Charlie. "You show her. I can't do it."

"Fine. We found this on you doorstep this morning." He handed me a thick piece of paper. The first thing I noticed was the wooden bird taped to one corner of the paper. My stomach turned over unpleasantly. I almost didn't want to read the note. It was written with a shaky hand, as if it had been written by someone in a hurry:

Dear Dad, Mum, and Vic,

I made a mistake by running away yesterday and I really want to apologize for that. As it is, I'm in a spot of trouble. Please come unarmed to the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade two weeks from today, along with the rest of our relatives. Otherwise, I won't be able to come home.

Sincerely,

Dom

Bile churned in my gut. Someone had forced her to write her own ransom note. How sick. That wasn't the only reason I felt ill, though. The meaning of the letter had begun to sink in: my little sister had been captured by a sociopath-and there was a good chance I wouldn't see her again.

Teddy squeezed my wrist hard to snap me back to reality. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

I couldn't nod or shake my head. I felt too numb to do anything.

"Your father is calling the other relatives right now. You and your cousins are going back to Hogwarts early-maybe even this afternoon." Charlie explained. "Though Hogwarts…isn't as safe as it once was, it still offers protections that we can't."

I managed to find my voice. "I'm sorry, Mum. This is my fault. I left Dom out. That's why she left."

"No, Victoire. It wasn't you. Dominique had a lot going on. It wasn't your fault. Do you hear me? It wasn't." Mum hugged me again. "It's going to be all right. It'll work out. Things always do." I didn't know if she was really trying to reassure me, herself, or the room at large.

The day passed in a whirl of faces and voices I got a lot of hugs, empty promises, and compliments on being 'such a brave girl'. I tried to get some homework done or read a book, but I couldn't focus on anything for longer than two minutes. Finally, I curled up on Dom's bed and refused to move for the rest of the day.

It didn't matter. The cousins found me. They grouped themselves in a semicircle on the carpet around the bed, except for Teddy, who was sitting next to me.

"We have to do something." James said. He stood up and started to pace agitatedly. "I mean, we can't just stand back and let the adults decide what to do. Dom's our cousin. We have to band together and save her."

"I agree with James." Fred said. The others agreed too, one by one.

"Me too."

"Me three."

"Same here."

"Yeah."

Teddy shook his head. His eyes were the same stormy grey they'd been all day, ever since he'd first seen the letter. "No. It's too dangerous."

"No!" Lily protested. "I want to help!"

"We'll prepare and plan and be super careful." Hugo added.

"Absolutely not." Teddy said. "This is exactly what Dolohov wants, kids-more hostages. We aren't Aurors. Most of you can't even duel properly. We're way outmatched in terms of skill."

"There are eight of us, and I'm sure that Lorcan, Lysander, and Scorpius will all want to help, too." Roxanne retorted.

"He's a Death Eater-and one of the best, at that. He's better than all of us combined. Besides, we don't even know where he's keeping her. What if we just make things worse?"

"We'll prepare and train. We'll be ready."

"We have two weeks. That's only fourteen days."

"That's long enough, isn't it?" Albus looked around at the others, who all nodded eagerly, except for Teddy and me.

Teddy sighed. "I guess the final decision should be Vic's to make. It's her sister we're talking about, after all."

Seven people turned to me expectantly. I shook my head. "Fine. But we are planning this out. Every. Single. Detail. And if I say to abort the mission, then we abort the mission, no questions asked. Got it?" I didn't really think we'd ever get far enough where that would be necessary, though.

They all nodded in turn. There was no rush of adrenaline or elation. No one high-fived or jumped up. We were all solemn, but there was also a palpable underlying current of excitement, mixed with a little bit of tension.

I placed my hand in the center of the bedspread. "For Dom?"

Seven hands covered mine. "For Dom."

"Look out, Dolohov! Here we come!" Roxanne crowed.

I, on the other hand, was hoping that I hadn't just made a huge mistake.

**Next chapter: Planning and Preparation**

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	18. Lysander and Lorcan 2

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Chapter 16-Lysander/Lorcan

Lorcan:

Platform 9 ¾ was crowded with kids on their way back to Hogwarts for the second term, but I couldn't find my friends, no matter how many compartments I searched.

"Lysander, do you know where James and Fred are?" I asked as I walked out of yet another compartment that was filled with first years. There's nothing wrong with first years mind you, they're just not Fred and James.

"Nope. They aren't in any of the compartments on your side?" Lysander had been searching all the train compartments on the left side as I went through the ones on the right side of the train.

"No. Where could they be?" I glanced at the station clock nervously. "It's almost time to go."

"I'm sure they wouldn't miss the train…"

Just then, Dad waved us outside, probably to have us say our good-byes to Mum. We scrambled back down to the platform, where Mum had (blissfully) forgotten to bring any Quibblers.

"Dad, do you know where the Weasleys and Potters are?" Lysander asked. "We've looked everywhere for them. We're afraid they'll-"

"miss the train." I finished.

Dad shook his head. "You don't need to worry about them, guys. They're already at school."

"Really? Why?" I'd never heard of anyone going back to Hogwarts early. Apparently, neither had Lysander.

Mum and Dad exchanged a glance over my head. "It's not your concern, Lorcan. However, be nice to them, okay? Especially now." Mum said cryptically.

"Hey!" Lysander retorted. "Aren't we always nice to them? They're our friends!"

"Of course you are. Just…be extra nice now, okay?" Dad asked.

"Okay."

"Good." He patted both of us on the back. "Now, you'd better hurry up and find a compartment or you'll miss the train."

We hurried off to board the train. As soon as we had safely found an empty compartment, Lysander turned to me. "What was that all about, Lorcan?"

I shrugged. "Beats me."

"You reckon they were just saying that? Maybe something-"

"happened." I finished, shivering. "Maybe it's just me, but I've got a very bad feeling about this, Lysander."

"I know what you mean."

At the start of term feast, a few redheads were obviously missing. We tracked Fred and James to the library, where they were…reading books.

"Hey mates." Lysander said, pulling up a chair and examining the cover of Fred's book. "A book on defensive counter spells, eh? How's that working out for you? Informative?"

"Go away, Lysander." Fred muttered indistinctly, scribbling notes on a piece of paper.

"Go away? Why? We should be working on our lists of pranks, shouldn't we?"

"No. Not right now."

"Why not? What's so important that you would research that instead of how many bottles of buttterbeer we can sneak into the castle from Hogsmeade?"

James stood up. "Lorcan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Reluctantly, I followed him behind the stacks of books until we were both obscured from view. "What is it, mate? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"We do need your help, Lorcan. Lysander's as well. We need to research and practice as many counter spells as we can." He looked more serious than I'd ever seen him. There wasn't even the barest trace of his smile on his face. In fact, he appeared to be on a mission-though what kind of mission it was I could only guess.

"Sure, mate. We'd love to. Can I ask why?"

He looked down, scuffing the toe of his sneaker against the wooden bookshelves. "It's Dom…" Quickly, he explained what had happened over the break-including the rest of his plan.

"James, this idea is crazy. Are you all trying to get killed?"

"She's our cousin. We can't just stand by and let her die. Anyway, we're doing this whether or not we have your help and approval."

"I could tell Dad on you."

"But you wouldn't." I saw the barest flicker of his old spunk come back into his eyes.

I laughed. "I'm in. If you're going down, we might as well all go down together. I'll talk to Lysander tonight and make sure he's on board, too."

James nodded, looking somewhat relieved. "Thanks. You can't imagine how hard it's been-especially since we don't know what he's going to throw at us."

"I'll say."

Just then, there was a rustle from the bookshelf directly behind us. James and I whirled around simultaneously, wondering how much the newcomer had heard.

Professor Dixon smiled up at us-a sick smile, the kind used to murder puppies and unicorns. "We aren't up to anything, are we boys?"

"No Professor Dixon." we chanted in unison.

"Good. Now, you boys should get to your dormitories. It's getting late, and you wouldn't want to be caught wondering around the castle after dark, would you?"

We shook our heads and left the library.

James shivered. "Doesn't that woman give you the creeps?"

"Yeah." I replied. "It doesn't matter if she's a teacher-I don't like her."

"I don't, either."

That night, I kept Lysander busy by playing games of Wizard Chess until the common room had finally emptied out. Once we got tired of that, we tried to tackle the rest of the homework we'd gotten slammed with before break. Even though I'd spent hours working on it during vacation, I still had a lot to do. Thankfully for us, the room finally emptied out around midnight-a very rare occurrence.

Lysander closed his History of Magic textbook, fixing me with his best imitation of a piercing stare. "Lorcan, now can you tell me what you're up to?"

"What do you mean? I'm not up to anything."

"Oh come on. We're always some of the first kids asleep. Why are we still up?" He barely managed to stifle a yawn behind his hand.

"Well…James asked for our help with something and it's…kind of a big thing." I told him the story. Lysander's eyes grew bigger and bigger until they seemed to be just as large, if not larger, than dinner plates.

"Is he for real? Is he actually going to try this?"

"They all are. They need our help, Lysander."

Instead of the adventurous gleam I'd expected to see in his eye, Lysander almost looked…scared. "We have to tell someone, Lorcan. If something goes wrong, someone could get seriously hurt. We should tell Dad tomorrow morning, so he can stop them before anyone goes too far."

"You can. I'm going to help them."

"Not you too!" he groaned. "Lorcan, you don't get how big this is. What if something were to happen to you-or any of the others?"

"Exactly. What if I don't go and something bad happens and I could have prevented it somehow? I would never forgive myself, and neither would you. On the other hand, no one's making you. Just because we're twins, we don't always think alike. I'll tell James in the morning that you're not up to it. 'Night, Lysander." I turned to head up the spiral staircase that led to our dormitory.

"Wait-I'm coming too. You can't seriously expect me to let you go alone, can you?" he called after me. I gave him the thumbs up. I knew he'd see reason eventually.

Of course, I also knew that I was really the unreasonable one.

Lysander:

It turned out that the Weasleys were more prepared than I'd given them credit for. They'd arranged themselves into teams of two or three: one team was for research, another for teaching the rest of us how to do defensive spells, a third for medicine and herbs in the event that something went wrong, and the fourth an espionage team. The researching team, which I was a part of along with James and Fred, spent their every free moment in the library. We learned as much as we could about Dolohov and the Hogsmeade area in general. The teaching team consisted of Vic and Teddy, the oldest. The med team stole ingredients from the potions cabinet and made them into poultices and potions, to be drunk in the likely case of a medical emergency. The espionage team (also Vic and Teddy) would be scouting out Hogsmeade during their next trip. When we were as prepared as we could possibly be, according to the plan, we'd rescue Dom and stop Dolohov.

Theoretically, of course.

Of all of us, Lorcan worked the hardest. He was always the first awake in the morning and the last to go sleep at night. He stole more potion ingredients than anyone in his group and could be found in Moaning Myrtle's still deserted bathroom stirring potions for hours a day, his nose bent close to the old and dusty pages of a book as he read the procedure to make the potions and poultices. I was afraid that he'd hurt himself or overexert himself somehow, as he'd been known to do, but he seemed to be holding up reasonably well.

For almost two weeks, we worked ourselves as hard as we could. Soon, Stunning and Disarming spells became as natural to us as walking and talking.

Finally, one night Vic and Teddy came back from their Hogsmeade trip bursting with news. They'd found a hidden door near the back entrance to Honeyduke's sweet shop. We now had a target. We were ready to go. We eagerly planned to sneak out the next day.

I went to sleep confident that Dolohov wouldn't know what had hit him by this time tomorrow night.

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	19. Victoire 4

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Chapter 19-Victoire

The night before the rescue mission, I could barely sleep. Every time I dropped off, even for a few seconds, I was invariably awoken again by nerves. Every time I closed my eyes, the sight of Louis's too-still body, lying under his bed sheets, tormented me until I woke up teary eyed and shaking.

_I ran into Louis's bedroom. "Lou! Time for breakfast!" My younger brother was still asleep, though the sun had long since risen. That was odd, since Louis was an early bird like Dom and me. Looking back on it, that was the first sign I got that everything was not as it should be. _

_"__Lou! Wake up!"_

_He didn't stir. No sleepy "Shut up, Vic! I'm trying to sleep!" There was no movement. None at all. It was a terrible, terrible silence._

_"__Lou?" _

_I stroked his blonde curls. "Lou, it's time to wake up."_

_Tentatively, I reached out a hand to touch his pale skin. _

_It was as cold as ice. _

_"__LOUIS WEASLEY, STOP PLAYING AND GET UP RIGHT NOW! LOUIS? LOUIS!"_

_"__Mum, where do people go after they die?" Dom asked._

_Mum turned away from where she was standing at the kitchen window, staring out into empty space. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "No one really knows, baby."_

_"__I know, but where do you think Louis went?"_

_"__I think he's with the angels. James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and the Lupins are watching over him. He's a better place now."_

_Dom turned back to her book-for about five seconds. Then, she let out a piercing scream that made both me and Mum jump. She got to her feet, crying, her book lying discarded at her feet. "Why did he have to die? Why can't he come back? Why can't he? Why did he get murdered? WHY DID MY BROHTER DIE?" _

_I ran from the room, unable to keep my emotions in check, much less give her a straight answer. I don't know what I would have said anyway._

_I stood up straight as the coffin passed. It seemed too small, far too small, to be holding my little brother and his explosive personality. Next to me, Dom sobbed into my shoulder, but I felt completely numb. Louis couldn't be dead. I refused to believe it. That would come later._

_"__Bye Lou." I managed to choke out. "I'm so, so sorry."_

_Sorry that you'll never go to Hogwarts._

_Sorry that you'll never play another game of Quidditch with the cousins._

_Sorry that you'll never get your first kiss._

_Sorry that you'll never grow up and start a family._

_Sorry that I never got a proper chance to say good-bye._

_Sorry that you're dead-and it's all my fault. _

"Vic! Wake up!"

I jolted awake to the usual chatter of my classmates waking up and getting ready for the day. For them, it would be just a normal day. For me, it meant I would get to see my sister again-or I would lose her forever. Not just her, but my cousins-not to mention my entire family.

"What's up?" Lila asked at breakfast, tossing me an apple. "You seem upset."

I forced myself to smile. "I'm fine, Lila. Don't worry about me." I bit into the apple, trying to act like this was a perfectly regular, normal day. I wanted to forget that today was the deadline. All the relatives would assemble today, ready to walk right into a trap. However, none of that would happen until after lessons.

I sleepwalked through most of my classes and skipped dinner, just as we'd planned. The other cousins had already started to assemble in the Gryffindor common room.

"Is everyone ready?" Teddy asked. Everyone nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. "Are we clear on the plan? Hugo, Lily, Albus, Roxanne, and Scorpius? You'll be ready to run back to the castle if something goes wrong?" They nodded solemnly. It had taken a lot of pleading and bribery to convince the youngest members of the group to stay out of the crossfire, but they finally had. After this we would owe them a hundred galleons-each. "Lorcan, Lysander, James, Fred, and Vic? Ready to fight?" We all nodded as well. "Good. Let's go. We've waited too long as it is."

One by one, we crept out of the castle's front doors and across the grounds. With one well-placed rock, Scorpius stopped the Whomping Willow in its tracks and we crept under its branches and into the secret passage beneath. It was starting to grow dark outside, which sapped what little confidence I had left.

Once we reached the village, Lily, Hugo, Scorpius, Albus, and Roxanne ran to hide inside the Shrieking Shack. They had a prime view of Honeyduke's, where they'd be able to see if we signaled for help, but they wouldn't be directly in the line of fire either. After they were safe and secure and we'd placed sufficient security spells on the building, we headed back into the village.

Even though it was early evening, the village was deserted. No one noticed as we congregated around Honeyduke's back wall.

"Do you remember where it is?" I asked Teddy. He nodded and leaned back. The wall shifted imperceptibly. One by one, we slipped through the gap in the wall and whatever lay beyond it.

It led to a passageway that led sharply downwards. The passage was dark and damp with a lingering smell of mold, and none of us could see where we were going. We had to walk single file, holding our breath so we could hear even the smallest of noises. After a while, we were rewarded: I heard someone crying. Sobbing, really.

I would recognize that voice anywhere.

Dominique.

Before I could think, I'd elbowed past Teddy and was running down the hall full tilt. I had to get to my sister.

"Wait Vic!" Teddy yelled, but I ignored him. I'd waited long enough.

Soon I entered a small, dark room. Dom was chained to a bench in the center of the room, crying. "Confringo!" I cried, pointing my wand at the chains. Instantly they snapped away from my sister, who turned toward me and looked shocked. Elated, sure, but truly shocked.

"Vic?" she asked, still sniffling.

"Of course it's me. Did you think that I would leave you here to die?"

"Are you really Vic? Are you sure you're not just a vision, conjured up by…_him?"_

My stomach dropped. "Dom, it's me. It's Vic. I promise you." I hugged her, holding her as tightly as I could. "It's me. I promise I'm not a vision."

"Vic!" She hugged me tightly.

"Did he hurt you anywhere?" I was sure I would never let go of her again.

"My back feels so sore…"

"Don't worry. We'll get you out of here. We'll get you back to Hogwarts and you'll be all right again."

"I'm sorry, Vic. This is all my fault."

"Don't worry about it. You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm just as guilty as you are. I promise that I'll never lock you out again."

"Thank you. Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"No. Besides, that's what sisters do. We protect each other." I squeezed her as tight as I possibly could without killing her from asphyxiation. All my stress drained away. All of our planning and preparation had worked out. We'd done it. We were here and I had my sister back again.

"I hope you don't still blame yourself because of Louis's death, because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Louis doesn't blame you. He always loved you, Vic. Always."

How did she know?

Just then, there was a loud, dry laugh from the corner of the room-a laugh devoid of joy that made my skin crawl unpleasantly. "Well done, Dominique. Well done."

Things could have gotten very bad after that, but then Teddy stepped out of the shadows, followed by the rest of our crew. "Let the blondes go, Dolohov." he said. His voice was quiet, but it was shaking with ill-disguised menace.

The battle had begun.

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	20. Teddy 2

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Chapter 20-Teddy

Things got a little crazy after that. Vic pushed Dom into Lorcan's waiting arms as Dolohov shot a cruciatus at James. Luckily, James dodged it easily and emerged from behind a stone column unharmed. "You'll have to try better than that if you want to kill_ me_." he replied cockily.

Dolohov yelled something unintelligible: half a spell, half some kind of primal scream. The tunnel around us fell apart. Light spun and sparked as I fell to my knees, cutting my skin on soot and rubble. _Victoire…_I jumped to my feet. "Is everyone all right?" I called.

No one yelled back. Shivers ran down my spine. "Vic? Dom? Lysander? Lorcan? James? Where are you? Answer me…now..."

"Turn around, Teddy Lupin." Dolohov called.

"No." I said.

"Turn around now, or I will kill every single one of your little friends-starting with the pretty blonde one."

I bit my lip and turned around. Dolohov was standing in the middle of the room, his wand aimed directly at Dom. "Kneel before me. Then, perhaps, I will spare your life and those of your friends. If you don't…you are only children. You don't stand a chance against me."

I knew he was right. Reluctantly, I dropped to my knees. I valued my pride-everyone does-but the family was my first priority. I was the oldest one here and should've known better. If I'd just stopped them when they had the chance…none of us would be here now. I wouldn't have this family ripped apart because of my lack of judgment and apparent hero complex.

Then again, they all might have died at the hands of this murderer.

"Excellent. Put down your wand."

So I did.

"Let us go. We won't do anything to you-I promise. I've followed my end of the bargain. Now it's your turn." I said somewhat shakily.

He smirked. "Did you really think that I would let you go? Are you really that naïve?" Before I could say anything, he raised his wand. "Avada-"

""OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Lorcan, of all people, rolled out from behind a wooden crate. "Expelliarmus!" The spell was executed perfectly-within seconds, the Death Eater's wand was in his grasp. I was very proud.

In the next moment, I'd lunged for Dominique, pulling her quickly to safety. "Are you all right?" I asked quietly.  
She nodded. "Fine. Let's do this." She went to stand by Lorcan. Lorcan looked quite pleased, if I do say so myself.

"Teddy!" Vic came to stand next to me. Dust and dirt streaked her hair, her arms and legs were torn and bloody, and blood was tricking a cut on the side of her nose, but she still looked beautiful to me. More beautiful than she had ever looked before. Then I turned back to our enemy.

"You won't win." I could see each of my charges now, all pointing their wands, all glaring at Dolohov with a cold, hard fury. "You are outnumbered."

Dolohov smirked. "Very well then. I guess you might as well know that I was the one that killed your father during the Final Battle."

My vision went red. I could barely see straight I was so angry. I raised my wand and had almost finished saying the first part of the killing curse when someone screamed my name, jolting me back to reality. Dolohov was laughing hysterically, tears streaming down his face. I wondered why he was laughing. After all, I was going to kill him. He'd killed my father. He deserved to die a horrible death.

"TEDDY LUPIN, YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!" Vic was screaming at me.

"What?" I asked in a cold, distant voice that I barely recognized as my own. My wand was still trained on our prisoner.

"You can't kill him, Teddy."

"Yes I can-and I will."

"Teddy, you know that he's the only one who can undo the spell. He's the only one that can end the comas. If you kill him…besides becoming a monster-our cousins will never wake up. You don't want that on your conscience, do you?"

Reluctantly I lowered my wand. My eyes stung with tears that I desperately tried to suppress. I hated this man. If it weren't for him, I would have a father. If it weren't for him, I would be normal like everyone else. He was the reason I'd never know what it felt like to have a dad play catch with you in the yard or take you to the cinema or buy you your first car. He was the reason my father wouldn't see me graduate after my seventh year or choose a career. He'd never be a grandfather. He wouldn't see my wedding-all because of Antonin Dolohov. He'd changed my life forever with a wave of his wand and two simple words: Avada Kedavra. Now he was going to get away scot free. He'd only go back to Azkaban, which obviously had no effect on him.

"Don't succumb." I felt hands on my shoulders and soft lips brushing my cheek. "Don't give in."

"I'm not going to, Vic. I promise."

"How touching. I'm sorry to say that I really must be going though. I have much more important things to do than terrorize you and fellow brats all day." Dolohov got to his feet. "Good show, Lupin. However, you forgot one little thing in your nice capture: I still have wandless magic." He mumbled something under his breath again.

"What did you do?" I screamed.

"I would love to tell you, but that would spoil the surprise."

Time froze. I felt the way Vic was clutching my shirt, like it was the only real and solid thing in the room; as if she was expecting me to protect her from an unspeakable horror. Lorcan was shielding Dom protectively with his body. James and Fred were already running, though I could tell there wouldn't be time for them to reach the exit. Lysander was following them. He was eyeing the wand in his brother's hand with a look of utmost loathing.

I observed all these things-and all these people who needed me now more than ever. We'd been extremely stupid to think we stood even a slim, slim chance against him.

In one moment, I observed everything that was going on.

By the next moment, the world had exploded.

**Sorry about the short chapter, but my computer is going to restart very soon and I need to save this. The remaining few chapters of this story will be longer. **


	21. Fred 2

**I apologize for the late update. I was feeling a little under the weather for the past couple of days, so I didn't write much. Instead, I'm going to publish two chapters today to make it up.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 21-Fred

By the time James, Lysander, and I reached the doorway, there wasn't a door there anymore. It had been blown apart by the sheer force of Dolohov's spell. Little bits of shrapnel had flown everywhere. I cursed loudly as a piece of plaster knifed into the soft part of my foot.

"Are you all right mate?" James called loudly. His voice echoed loudly in the dim space.

"Yeah, fine. Just…stepped on something. Sorry about that."

"No problem. We need to-"

Just then, Lysander cried out in pain. He'd practically sliced his arm open on the jagged edge of a piece of debris and was bleeding badly. We rushed over to him and I dug a clean bandage out of my pocket before handing it to James, who was closest to him. James wrapped Lysander's cut up to the best of his ability, even though the room was black as pitch and dust was hanging like a dusty film in the air.

"You okay?" I asked. I prayed he would say yes, as I wasn't sure what would happen if he didn't.

"Yeah, I'm…fine." Lysander grimaced as he moved his bad arm. "We need to get Dolohov! We can't let him escape!"

I knew that he was right. We'd most likely never get this chance again. "Did you see which way he went?"

"No, I was hoping you did."

Just then, James interrupted us. "Guys, shouldn't we wait for Teddy and the others? We can't just go and try to subdue a notorious Death Eater by ourselves. That would be suicide."

"We've come too far to stop now. We have to keep going and hope the others find us. However, you can stay here if you want to." I said seriously. "No one's forcing you to go, mate."

James grinned. "And leave you two to try to figure things out by yourself? Not likely. You'll get each other killed. You might be out of your minds…but better all of us than only two. Let's go."

Lysander cheered and ran blindly down an empty passageway. James and I exchanged a look, rolled our eyes, and followed him.

When we caught up with him, he was standing in a small alcove. His wand was raised and pointed directly at Dolohov, who was watching us almost psychotically.

"Hello boys. How nice of you to find me." he drawled.

"Surrender. We beat you." James said. His eyes were crackling with fury.

"Shouldn't you find your cousins? They might be worried. Especially when they enter this room and see three dead and mangled corpses."

Briefly, I wondered if Dolohov could really kill us with a spell he'd created using nonverbal magic.

Then I realized that I couldn't worry about it. Whatever happened would happen. I had bigger things to do.

"You're surrounded." Lysander replied.

"But I can Apparate. See you, boys." He began to turn on the spot.

The next few seconds seemed to lengthen and slow down, until they seemed to pass at a snail's pace. "Wait! You have to save my cousins!" I screamed. He was getting away, and there was nothing I could do.

Suddenly, a voice from behind me yelled "STUPEFY!" A jet of green light hit Dolohov as he was disappearing and the Death Eater slumped to the floor, unconscious but very much in the room.

"Nice one, Vic." James congratulated.

Vic blushed. "Thanks. Just be happy we got here in time." She and Teddy stepped forward, wiping dust off their school uniforms.

"How did you know where we were?" Lysander asked curiously.

"We didn't. We just followed you, since it looked like you were about to try something rash-and it looks like we were right." Teddy said disapprovingly.

"Skip the lecture and help us subdue him." James interrupted. "He could come around at any second now."

"Right. Incarcerous." Immediately, ropes bound Dolohov from head to foot so he couldn't escape. "There. That should hold him."

"Agreed. Lumos." I lit the tip of my wand and watched as the corridor was suddenly flooded with light. I led the way back through the passage, while Lysander and James carried our prisoner the way you'd carry a dead body.

"Looks like we've got this problem all wrapped up." I joked.

James laughed. "Dude, that's terrible."

We all started laughing until it was hard to catch our breaths.

"So, where are Dom and Lorcan?" Lysander asked Vic.

"They got trapped behind another section of wall. We wanted to help them out, but they insisted that we follow you instead. You should be thanking them instead of us."

Just then, we reached the main room. Almost immediately, we encountered a small problem. Since the doorway had been destroyed, rocks now blocked the exit to the outside. We were now trapped.

"Hello?" Lysander yelled. "Anyone up there?"

I harbor no love for dark spaces. "So…does that mean we're stuck here?"

James helped me to sit down. He tried valiantly, though vainly, not to look worried. "Don't worry. We'll be okay. Someone'll find us eventually."

Teddy and Vic were exploring the section of wall where they'd left Lorcan and Dom. "Dom, are you still there?" called Vic.

There was no reply.

"Where did they go?" Vic whispered urgently to Teddy. "What if something happened to them? What if they're hurt, or worse?"

"She's your sister, Vic. You'd know." he said calmly. "I'm sure they're just trying to find a way out, just like us."

"I'm going to look for them."

Teddy shook his head. "We have to stay here. It'll be easier for us to be rescued if we're all in one place."

"But what if something happens to them?"

"We'll get through it. We always have before, haven't we?" Lysander said. He sounded choked up. He was worried, however he tried to pretend to the contrary.

For what seemed like an hour but was probably only twenty minutes we sat in the dark, alternately pacing and talking in low voices. We were all getting worried, even though we didn't show it. There was no way for us to signal the others if they couldn't see the sparks. There was no sign of Dom or Lorcan either.

Just then, when we had almost given up hope, there was a loud cry of "Look out below!" from somewhere above us. We quickly ran to take shelter behind anything and everything that we could find. I pulled James and Lysander down behind a wooden bench not a second too soon. The ceiling above us exploded and little bits of dust and other building materials rained down on us. Once things stopped falling, I dared to look up. We could see the night sky through a small hole high above us. As we watched, a rope spiraled through the air, landing with a soft thump next to us.

"One at a time, kids." the voice continued.

James jumped to his feet, already reaching for the rope. "Dad?" he asked disbelievingly.

At that moment, I knew that we'd all be okay.


	22. Lorcan

Chapter 22-Lorcan

2 hours earlier:

After the dust cleared from the first blast, I scrambled to my feet so I could try to find out where I was. There was a solid wall in front of me and the others were nowhere in sight. "Lysander! James! Fred! Teddy! Vic! Dom! Where are you?" I called.

"Ow…right here, Lorcan."

I quickly glanced down. Dom was lying a little way down the passageway, holding her head. She didn't appear to be outwardly harmed. "Lumos." I whispered, making my way over to her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine. I just have a major…headache." She ground a fist into her forehead, probably hoping to slow the pain. "What about you?"

"Fine. Do you know where the others are?"

"No. I hope they made it out all right. Vic!" she yelled loudly. Her voice echoed down the tunnel but returned to both of us empty.

"Don't worry." I said, trying not to panic. "We'll get out of here. Once they see that we aren't with them, they'll come looking."

"Of course." Dom said briskly before she yelled her sister's name again.

This time we got a response.

"Dom? Is that you?" The voice sounded tinny and far away, as if it were coming from the end of a long tunnel. It might not have been coming from a tunnel, but it was definitely coming from the other side of the wall-which was just as bad.

"Yes, it's me! Where are you? Is Teddy with you? Are you two all right?"

"Yes, we're fine! Dolohov's gone, though. We're in the main room, but we can't see you. Where are you?"

"On the other side of the wall. We can't get to you. I'm with Lorcan. We're both unharmed."

There was silence from the other side for a few minutes as Teddy and Vic conferred on what to do. Finally, Teddy spoke to us loudly to make himself heard. "Stand back. I'm going to get rid of the wall."

"No, don't do that! It's too narrow. Lorcan and I will both get hurt. Where are James, Lysander, and Fred?"

"They left. Maybe before the explosion."

"Go after them. We'll find a way out of here and meet you back in the main room in an hour or two."

"But-"

"Vic, you have to go! You know the boys are probably on their way to do something stupid. You have to make sure that they don't get hurt. We'll be fine. I promise."

There was a long silence from the other side of the wall. Finally, Vic said "Fine. But when we get back, you better both be out here or we're coming in to get you."

"Deal."

We heard running footsteps pattering away in the other direction. We were alone once again.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We have to find a way out." Before I could stop her, Dom began to walk aimlessly along the corridor. I hurried to catch up. I didn't relish wandering around in a maze of dark passageways, but I really didn't want to be alone.

The passageway led us to a dead end. We went on like that for a while until I had one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever had. "We need to mark where we've been. You know, like in that muggle fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel."

"How do we mark them?"

"Um…" I glanced around, hoping we'd be lucky enough to find a sharp rock or some kind of stick, some kind of mud, or even a handful of small pebbles. There was nothing though, helpful or not. "I don't know."

"We just learned cutting spells last week. Maybe I can try…" Dom closed her eyes in concentration and raised her wand. "Diffindo." She traced the shape of a D in the air. Immediately, a lightly glowing D etched itself into the rock wall. It was just noticeable in the weak light my lit wand tip gave off.

"That was brilliant, Dom." I said.

"Thanks." Even though it was dark I knew she was smiling broadly. "I think I can do that for the rest of the walls."

We continued along. Every time we reached a corner or a fork in the road, Dom carved another D. Soon, we were seeing Ds almost everywhere we went, but we still hadn't found an exit.

"Lysander?" I called for the thousandth time. "Lysander, where are you?"

My hand brushed solid rock. We'd reached yet another dead end.

I slumped down against the wall, utterly defeated and unwilling to go another step. "I give up."

Dom's footsteps retreated but then returned. "I don't see any light-from anywhere." she sighed, sitting down next to me. "Let's take a short break."

"We're stuck." I moaned.

"We'll find a way out. Somehow."

"Yeah. Somehow."

We sat in silence for a while. Finally, Dom cleared her throat, as if she were trying to figure out what to say. "So, Lorcan, what's your story?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you like? I've seen you around, but I guess I don't really know you."

"I'm not special, if that's what you mean."

"You're top in your year."

"Yeah. I like to study. That doesn't matter, though. Everyone just thinks of me as Lysander's brother. Lysander's handsome. He's brave. Everyone likes him. I can't compare to someone like him. I'm just…smart. And being smart isn't important anymore."

"It is to me. I don't know, Lorcan. It seems like you more than measure up to your brother."

I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I was surprised Dom couldn't hear it. "Really?"

"Really. You're more sensitive than your brother and you don't do stupid things just to please your friends."

"I guess not. Thank you, Dom."

"My pleasure."

We talked about school for a while and kind of lost track of time. After a while, there was a small explosion deep in the tunnels and then the sound of someone coughing. "Lorcan? Dom? Are you in there?" Lysander called in between coughs.

I scrambled to my feet. "I'm right here." I called back. "Where are you?"

"Around the-wait, I see you. Don't move. I'm coming to get you out of there."

I smiled at Dom and shook my head, even though I knew my brother wouldn't be able to see it. "Don't worry, Lysander. I can find the way out myself."

**Hope you enjoyed. Read, review, follow, and favorite!**


	23. Albus 3

**Hello again! I have another two chapters for today as I will be out of town on Thursday.**

**Read, review, follow, and favorite! **

Chapter 23-Albus

_I really hate you, James. I really do._

I was part of a quiet circle of kids sitting on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, waiting for the others to come back. It had been almost an hour, and we were starting to get worried. No one knew what had happened to our cousins, or even where in the village they'd gone.

I was at the head of the circle, followed by Scorpius, Lily, Roxanne, and Hugo. After a while, Scorpius got up and began to pace, grinding ruts into the floor with the heel of his shoe. "Where are they? They should be out by now." He glanced outside, probably hoping to see everyone walking up the road toward us, alive and well.

The road was empty.

I sighed. It had to be past midnight by now, at least. "It's going to be a long night, and we're going to need to sleep. We'll take it in turns. Lily and Hugo, you can sleep first."

"But-"Lily protested. Just then she yawned loudly before sheepishly curling up on a dusty old chiar. Hugo fell asleep where he was, lying on the hearth near the fireplace as he watched the flames dance and spark in the dim light.

Roxanne slumped against the wall, nervously crossing and uncrossing her legs. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Yeah." I said unconvincingly.

I glanced over at Lily. She was the only one out of my siblings and I that had our mother's red hair. She was also a light sleeper, turning over and over in her chair as she struggled in the throes of an unpleasant dream. She looked so sweet and innocent…I had a sudden nostalgic wish that she could stay that way forever, especially if James never came back.

"We should be there! We should be helping them!" Scorpius yelled. "Instead, we're just sitting here doing nothing. For all we know, they could be in trouble. For all we know, they could be dead!"

Roxanne whimpered and clapped her hands over her ears. "Don't say things like that! Of course they're not dead."

"Yet."

Because we were the youngest, we'd been kept out of the rescue mission. We were told that we were the lookouts, but I knew that they were just trying to keep us out of the passage and out of harm's way.

Just then, a low rumble from somewhere in Hogsmeade caused the ground under us to vibrate. Then, there was a loud crash. It was so loud that the windowpanes rattled and the entire house seemed to rock on its foundation. Scorpius turned to me, his eyes wide with fear. "What was that?"

"I have no idea."

"It was coming from Hogsmeade. We have to check it out."  
I wanted to say that we should stay back because that was what the others had asked of us, but then I thought better of it. I'd had to cope with being the first Potter in Slytherin all year. Just because I was in fact a Slytherin didn't mean that I couldn't still be brave. "Okay. Let's do it." Somehow, I knew the crash wouldn't have happened if my relatives hadn't had something to do with it. James and Fred have a way of drawing trouble to them like a magnet.

Roxanne looked up as Scorpius and I edged out the door. "Wait-where are you two going?" she asked shrilly.

"Just to check out what that crash was. We won't be gone long."

She jumped to her feet. "I'm coming with you."

"Roxie, I need you to look after Lily and Hugo, okay?" I hugged her tightly. "We'll be back before you know it-I promise."

She nodded in a grim salute. "Okay. But you better not do anything stupid. Otherwise, I can't be held accountable for my actions."

"Agreed." I took one last look at Hugo and Lily, who were both still sleeping soundly. Then, I rushed onto the path that led to the village. Scorpius was right behind me.

The right side of Honeyduke's Sweet Shop had collapsed. Where the store had once been there was now nothing, apart from a deep pit full of rocks and other debris. My breath caught in my throat and twisted into a lump that made it impossible to cry out and see if there were any survivors. What if there weren't?

Thankfully, Scorpius yelled into the pit instead. "Hello? Is anyone down there?"

For one long, terrible moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, there was a fit of coughing and a "Who is this?" from inside. Teddy. My heart leapt with hope.

"Scorpius Malfoy. Where are you?"

"I'm somewhere inside the rubble. Victoire is with me. I just saw James, Fred, and the twins. They're all okay, I believe. So is Dom. We can't get out, though. How are you guys?"

"We're fine. Sit tight and don't move. We'll be right back."

The trek back to Hogwarts castle seemed to take an eternity, even though we were running as fast as we could. We'd wasted enough time as it was detouring at the Shrieking Shack so we could tell Roxanne what we'd found out, and when we reached the familiarity of the Hogwarts grounds the moon was already beginning to set. Everyone in the castle would be asleep.

"We should have stolen some Floo powder before we left." Scorpius muttered darkly.

"You're right, but we can't do anything about that now. Let's just stick to the task at hand." I pulled out my Invisibility Cloak and covered us both. We progressed silently back up the main path and slipped inside the heavy oak doors of the school. Once we were safely inside, we took the cloak off and began to run again, not even bothering to be careful. It's a miracle we didn't run into Filch and get a month's worth of detensions, especially after I stubbed my toe on a stone gargoyle and swore loudly.

I'd been to the headmistress's office so many times that I already knew the password. "Albus…Dumbledore." I spoke loudly, clutching a stitch in my side. A spiral staircase swung into view and we hurried up the stairs, filled with renewed strength.

McGonagall was still in her office, reading a memo. She looked extremely surprised to see us. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

"It's a very long story. We have to Floo to my house, Professor. It's urgent." I said as I reached out to grab some Floo powder from the box on her desk.

"Do I want to know why?" she responded, to which all three of us shook our heads. "All right. The fireplace is all yours."

I stepped into the grate and yelled "Potter Manor!" into the flames. Scorpius was right behind me.

The manor was dark. For a minute, I thought Mum and Dad were at a party they hadn't told us about. I rushed upstairs to my parents' room, taking the steps two at a time. "Can you wait outside?" I asked Scorpius. "You know, since this is already going to be kind of a shock to them…"

He nodded, though he didn't look happy about it, and sat down on the carpet to wait.

I rushed into Mum and Dad's room. "Mum! Dad! Wake up! The others are in trouble!"

Immediately, Dad jumped to his feet, one hand fumbling for his glasses while he grabbed his wand with the other. "Albus?" he asked, sounding confused. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at school?"

"We don't have time for the full story! You have to get the uncles!" I'd reached for another handful of Floo powder when Dad grabbed the back of my jacket, abruptly bringing me to a halt.

"Albus, slow down. What's going on?" he asked.

I told him the story using the shortest possible version. Dad swore under his breath and stepped into the fire. "Go back to Hogwarts. Get Roxanne, Lily, and Hugo and stay inside the castle, whatever you do or whatever you may hear. I'll be there as soon as I can. Then, we are going to have a very, very long talk." Without another word, the flames turned green and swallowed him whole.

Scorpius raced to join me. "Where to now?"

"Back to Hogwarts." I said dejectedly. I wished I could have been part of the rescue mission, but I was starting to feel quite exhausted.

"Wait!" Mum said, running up to us. She handed us each a cup of warm tea, which she'd been preparing as I'd told Dad the story. She didn't lecture us, which I was grateful for. I didn't think I could sit through one without knowing what was happening to the rest of my family. "Drink this. You must be exhausted, both of you-and the night isn't nearly over."

I nodded gratefully and hugged her once before Flooing back.

"Mmm…your mom is really cool." Scorpius said happily.

"I know."

The rest of the night is kind of a blur, as I was running on a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion. I was so tired that I could fall asleep at any moment. First, Scorpius and I woke Hugo and Lily and conferred with Roxanne, who'd been worried sick. Then, we all went back to the Great Hall to wait for the others to arrive.

Bill, Victoire, and Teddy were back first. They were covered in dust, and Teddy had a nasty gash on his forehead, but they were okay overall. Then came Dad, James, and Fred. Same story with them. After that were Ron, George, Dom, and the twins. Lysander's injuries were probably the worst. His right arm was twisted and hanging at an awkward angle, but Madam Pomfrey was able to painlessly fix it with one quick spell. Lysander was very glad to hear that.

I knew we'd be asked questions, especially about Dolohov's unconscious body, which had safely been transported to Hogwarts and was now locked securely in one of the school's dungeons. However, all of us kids were literally falling asleep on our feet, so they were postponed until the next morning.

We all slept in the hospital wing so we could be near our out-of-commission siblings and cousins. Soon, they'd be awake again and would have just as many if not more questions than the adults.

The last thing I remember is crawling under the stiff white sheets of a hospital bed while someone gave me a Dreamless Sleep potion. Within seconds, I was asleep. The voices of my family and friends faded into a dull, distant roar as I let blissful unconsciousness carry me away.


	24. James 3

Chapter 24-James

Now came the not-so-fun part of our 'adventures'.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" Dad yelled, halting his pace for a moment so he could give each of us a disapproving glare. "You could have been killed, or worse."

Teddy stepped forward. "I take full responsibility, Harry. I apologize. I would never try to hurt a member of the family on purpose."

Harry nodded. "I know you didn't, Teddy. Thankfully, things went well for us. Next time though, please tell me or another adult if you're planning a rescue mission."

"I will, but I have to ask: did Dolohov really kill my father?" Teddy looked beseechingly at Dad. I was shocked to see that his eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. The fearless Teddy Lupin, who'd once had his shoulder dislocated but had popped it back into place without batting an eye, was actually crying.

Everything went really still, like the entire world was waiting to hear what my dad had to say. We were all silent from our perches on cushions and old desks in the abandoned classroom where we'd been taken for questioning.

Dad looked away. "I'm sorry, Teddy. I'd hoped I'd be able to tell you when you were a little older. I'm really, really sorry."

Teddy didn't say another word. He ran out of the classroom and slammed the door behind him. Vic started to go after him, but Dad stopped her. "Give him time, Vic. He's just gotten some shocking news. He'll need some time to get used to it." Then he turned to the rest of us. "I have to know exactly what happened last night. Tell me your stories-one at a time, please."

By Monday morning, the story had spread through the school like wildfire. Most of the versions I heard were completely fake though. Some firsties were saying that we'd actually killed a Death Eater using a Dungbomb and a paper clip. As awesome as that would be…it wasn't really the truth.

Still, when we went down to breakfast, we were uncomfortably aware of everyone staring at us. I felt what it must be like to be famous and how my dad must feel every time we pass a group of people who won't stop staring at his scar.

"Oi James!" Dennis Longbottom whispered from the seat next to me. "Is it true that you saved your cousin from the Death Eaters on Friday night?"

I considered saying that it had been a group effort and that there had really only been one Death Eater, not a group. However, then I looked at Fred, who was trying not to laugh. I knew what I had to do.

"Oh yeah! It was awesome. There I was, well, Fred and me, actually…surrounded by this huge group of Death Eaters! There had to be about twenty of them, all out for our blood!"

I recounted the rest of the story, with Fred adding things every now and then. We may have embellished things just a little…

Mela Zabini seemed a little skeptical. "Did you really harness the powers of a mystical pink unicorn that could create rainbows out of garbage?"

Fred and I both nodded enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her book, but she was smiling.

Fred elbowed me sharply. "She's kind of cute." he whispered, eyeing Mela.

I slapped him playfully. "In your dreams, mate. I call dibs."

For once, our classes weren't boring. Everyone was constantly asking us questions-even the teachers. I had to retell the story dozens of times to satisfy everyone, and each version ended up being a little different (Fred and I might have had a competition to see who could come up with the most outrageous version).

Term went back to normal after that-mostly. We spent all of our free time studying for our finals (I use the term 'studied' lightly). The weather was beautiful, so we also spent a lot of time outside. However, Teddy had never been the same since he found out the news about his father's death.

"I'm a little worried about Teddy." Fred confessed one night as we were opening a package from his dad. Every so often, Uncle George sent him and Roxanne a package of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes merchandise in secret. We had a lot of fun using them to set up pranks. We pulled a good one on Albus a few days ago.

"So am I." I replied. "I mean, he doesn't really talk to anyone or hang out with us anymore-"

"Except for Vic."

"Of course. Always Vic."

"You'd think he felt responsible for his dad's death himself."

I looked down, suddenly serious. "Maybe he does."

"But that's mental. I mean, he was a baby! How could he possibly have done something?"

I shrugged. "Maybe he thinks he could have."

"Hmm." Fred looked at the mess of fireworks and candies spread out on the floor before us. "We should do something for him-not only for that, but because he's about to go through his O.W.L.s. I have an idea-but it's pretty crazy."

I smiled evilly. "What've you got in mind?"

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	25. Scorpius 3

**We are nearing the end of the story! Only a few more chapters left! The entire story should be finished by the end of the week.**

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Chapter 25-Scorpius

"Who can show me the correct way to perform a levitation charm?" Professor Flitwick asked, gesturing to the incantation he'd written on the blackboard.

I stretched my hand into the air and felt a rush of excitement when I was called on. This had been happening more and more lately, ever since I'd aced my first Charms test a few months ago. I'd just opened my mouth to perform the spell when there was a loud, almost frantic pounding on the door.

"Come in!" Flitwick called.

Albus rushed in, looking excited for once, not nervous. "I need to borrow Scorpius for a little bit. Please send any homework he might receive in his classes today to the hospital wing."

Flitwick nodded and gestured for me to pack up my books. I followed Albus down the hall, eying him warily for news of some new crisis or disaster. "What is it?" I asked. Hadn't the Weasleys and Potters suffered enough this year?

However, Albus was practically bouncing on the heels of his feet. "We finally made Dolohov talk! The cousins should be waking up any minute now!"

Rose.

I practically ran the rest of the way to the hospital wing. Albus was close behind me. If he knew that I had a crush on Rose, he didn't say anything. The room was crowded with Weasleys and Potters: some I knew, but most I didn't. Our families aren't exactly the best of friends. Lysander and Lorcan Scamander were also there. Lorcan was showing a book to Dominique Weasley, and they appeared to be deep in conversation about something.

I would have been content to go straight to Rose's bedside, but Al wanted to introduce me to all of his relatives. He had a lot of uncles and aunts-and they all looked suspicious of me.

I turned to my friend. "Albus, do you know why everyone in your family hates me?"

"They don't hate you, Scorp. They just don't trust you."

"Thanks. That sure makes me feel a lot better."

Just then there was a loud yawn from the bed nearest the window, currently occupied by his cousin Lucy. Immediately the room fell silent, as though someone had cast a perfect silencing charm over it. Lucy stretched and opened her eyes. "Wait-what happened? Where am I? Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I die? Then why can I see you?" she asked. Her eyes were wide, curious, and filled with innocence.

There was a strangled cry from her mother, Audrey, and her parents rushed over to her. They hugged and kissed her, examining every inch of her for bruises, injuries, or scars-until Madam Pomfrey put a stop to it. "I believe this is my job." she said as she gave Lucy a thorough check up. "I'm glad to say that Lucy will not suffer any lasting wounds or scars from the spell." Everyone cheered.

Molly was the next to wake up. "Someone turn out the lights." she muttered, burying her face in her pillow.

Fred and Roxanne exchanged a glance and ran over to her. "I don't think so." Fred replied. The three of them play-wrestled for a while until they ended up in a tangled heap on the bed, winded and laughing.

Suddenly, Molly sat bolt upright. "Wait-where's Lucy? Is she all right?"  
Lucy flung herself across the room and onto her older sister's bed. She then proceeded to give Molly a big hug. "Yeah, Molly. I'm fine."

The scene was touching, to say the least.

For the next fifteen minutes, everything was hugs, kisses, and 'what did I miss?' I stood to the side of the commotion, feeling lonely and out of place.

One bed was still occupied.

I could see that Rose's parents were unsure of what to do. While the other girls had woken up relatively quickly, Rose hadn't moved or changed since my routine visit that morning. They glanced form their nieces jumping around and talking to each other to their daughter, still lying in a coma, and back again.

One by one, everyone noticed this turn of events and quieted down. Hugo reached out to touch his sister's arm. His hand shook tentatively. "Rosie?"

There was no reply.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked. "Why isn't she waking up?"

"I don't know." Madam Pomfrey sounded worried. "I know the spell was successfully removed. There's no reason why she shouldn't be awake right now, like her cousins. All we can do now is wait, I suppose."

So we did.

For hours we stayed in the hospital wing, talking in low voices and trying to keep ourselves occupied as the hours wore on and we ran out of people to talk to and things to talk about. Fred and James started a game of Exploding Snap, but none of us really felt like playing. A few house elves brought up tea and dinner for us when it started to get late. I watched the sun set behind the Quidditch pitch, streaking the sky with shades of red, gold, and deep purple.

We stayed up until midnight, trying to keep up conversation.

"So, what was it like?" I asked Molly. "Being unconscious, I mean."

She shrugged. "It was weird. One minute I was running down the corridor and the next I was waking up here. What day is it, anyway? I forgot to ask."

"May fifteenth."

"I've been asleep for _three months_?"

"Afraid so."

She shook her head. "That's completely mental. Anyway, how are you, Scorpius?"

"Good." I looked down, feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, thanks for warning us about Hugo. You really helped out. If there's anything we can ever do for you, just let us know."

I grinned. "Thanks, but it was nothing. It was mostly my dad, in any case. I was just the messenger."

"I heard that you were still part of the rescue mission. You were really brave."

I hadn't actually done that much. Why were people making the things I'd done sound better than they were? I'd just done things any halfway decent person would have done.

Just then, Madam Pomfrey stood up on an empty chair, shouting to make herself heard over the din. "It's getting late. Everybody out."

"I want to stay with Rose!" Hugo cried indignantly. Albus nodded in agreement.

""We can only wait and see now. I'm sorry, Hugo."

One by one, we filed outside. I walked to the Gryffindor common room in a daze, not registering all the people bidding me good-night. I lay awake for a long time, but I wasn't able to fall asleep.

Finally, when the clock read 3:42 and I still hadn't dozed off, I gave sleep up as a lost cause and crept back through the silent school passageways to the hospital wing. It was deserted except for Rose, who was still lying in her comatose state.

I pulled up a chair and lit a candle in a handy wall sconce. It felt like a normal day-I was up here to tell her about my day. Except for the fact that besides the flickering, unsteady light of my candle, the only light in the room was that of the moonlight streaming in through the windows. "Hey Rose. Today was a really interesting day. Lucy and Molly woke up. They aren't hurt or anything, but they were really confused at first. You should probably wake up soon. You've been out for almost six months, and you're terribly behind. You know I hate to say it, but it's true. Don't worry, though. You'll be able to make it up soon, and you'll still be top of the year."

I wasn't expecting anything to happen, so I wasn't surprised when nothing did. Slowly, I stood up and headed for the door. "Well, good-night Rose."

Just then there was a small sneeze from behind me. "Scorpius?" a voice asked quietly.

I spun on my heel and raced back to the bed. "Rose? Are you awake?"

"Yeah." She sat up, looking around her blearily. "What happened?"

I told the entire story to the best of my ability. It took a long time, since Rose was understandably very confused and asked a lot of questions. When I'd finished, she nodded grimly. "The Comotus spell. It puts its victims into an indefinite comatose state, which can only be removed by the spell's caster. I'd read about it just a few weeks before I was attacked, but I never made the connection. I can't believe how dumb I was."

"You weren't dumb. Don't say that. Don't ever say that-not when you're still third in the year." I decided to ask the question that had been bothering me for the past few months. "You said I…knew something. But I didn't."

"I said that? I can't remember. It was all a blur. I think I meant to say that you'd know when I woke up."

"But I didn't know. I just came here because I couldn't sleep. And…how did you know?"

She shrugged. "It was different being comatose. I saw everything much more clearly than I had before and I just…felt things. I wasn't part of the present, so I saw a little of the future. And you did know tonight. Your body told you, somehow. It sent you invisible signals. Scorpius, this might sound strange, but…when I was out, I heard something in my head sometimes…and it sounded uncannily like your voice. Did you ever…talk to me, by any chance?"

I looked down and felt my cheeks turning an angry shade of red. "Every day."

She smiled. "Thank you, Scorpius." Then she flung her arms around me and held me tightly. I relaxed into her grip, as her arms were warm and smelled faintly of wood violets.

Finally, I pulled away. "Shouldn't we go and find your family? They've been worried sick, especially Hugo."

She nodded and leapt nimbly to the floor. "Yes. I think we should. I promised Hugo a tour of the castle one of these days...even though he probably knows it better than I do by now."

"Don't worry-you'll learn fast."

Before I could lose my nerve, I took her hand and gave it one quick, tight squeeze. "Let's go."

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	26. Teddy 3

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Chapter 24-Teddy

I emerged from the Great Hall after the last of my O.W.L.s both exhausted and elated.

The rest of my friends were all laughing and jumping around like five year olds. "We made it, Teddy!" my closest mate Karl said as he patted/pounded me on the back.

"I know!" I said, feeling his contagious excitement. "Now we just need to worry about whether or not we did well." Everyone laughed, though I was only half joking. Grandma Andromeda would kill me if I didn't scrape at least five OWLs.

"Teddy!" Fred cried, running over to us. "Meet me in the Room of Requirement at seven tonight." he explained, much to the confusion of my other friends. There's an advantage to being related to one of the greatest pranksters Hogwarts has ever known-both Fred and I had grown up knowing everything there is to know about the castle.

"Sure thing." I replied, watching him sprint back over to James. They were seated on a low stone bench near the Forbidden Forest, tossing breadcrumbs in the direction of the trees. I shook my head ruefully. I'd kind of deserted the kids over the past couple of weeks as I'd been studying like crazy, so I figured I owed them some time.

"What's the 'Room of Requirement?" Karl asked.

I shrugged. "It's a cooler name than 'Gryffindor common room, don't you think?"

My friends still had plenty of time to find the Room for themselves.

When I opened the door that night at seven on the dot, the Room of Requirement was extremely dark. For a moment, I was afraid that I'd gotten the time wrong. "Hello?" I called, groping in the blackness for a candle. "Fred?"

Just then, a glass chandelier burst into flames above my head, illuminating all the Weasleys and Potter, along with Scorpius, Lysander, and Lorcan. Since the adventure, they'd become part of the family and hung out with us whenever we had free time or our schedules overlapped. "SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS, TEDDY!" they yelled at the top of their lungs.

I took in the Room. It had really outdone itself this time. Framed portraits of me hung from the walls, and little fireworks were popping above our heads. Their sparks spelled out words and phrases like YOU DID IT and WE LOVE YOU, TEDDY! To top it all off, a gigantic chocolate cake and around twenty bottles of butterbeer were stacked on top of a groaning wooden table surrounded by chairs. "This is awesome!" I enthused.

"Knew you'd find it that way." James said. He grabbed one of my arms and Fred grabbed the other, steering me to an overstuffed red armchair at the head of the table. One by one, the others settled in around us.

For a couple hours, everyone simply ate, drank, and discussed their summer plans. I promised the twins I'd play some Quidditch with them, as they were both eager to be on the House team: Lysander as a Beater and Lorcan as a Seeker.

Just then, a mini food fight exploded at the foot of the table. Fred and James had gotten into an argument over some little thing. I'd like to say that I acted the part of a mature and responsible teenager and told them both to settle down. However, we were all hyped up on sugar and soda and were soon all locked in fierce combat. I nailed Roxanne with a well-placed piece of cake to the head, but Dom got my back and left a stain that won't come out for weeks. By the time 9:00 rolled around, we were all exhausted and covered in chocolate.

"We've still got time to shower." I said, glancing at the clock. "Follow me."

Since I was a prefect, the prefects' bathroom was open for my use-and occasionally for my guests. The girls bathed first, then the boys. We almost missed curfew because I got into a big splash fight with Albus, Fred, and Scorpius, but eventually we all assembled back in the Room of Requirement to survey the huge mess we'd made. We had completely trashed the Room. There was chocolate everywhere. It covered the walls, ceiling, and even the floor.

"I'll clean up. You guys go ahead." I ignored groans of protest, especially since Lily and Hugo looked about ready to fall asleep on their feet.

Dom hugged me as she headed back to her common room. "Thanks for everything, Teddy."

"Of course. Hey, Dom…maybe we could do something this summer, just the two of us."

"No Vic?"

"Nope. No Vic. We can do whatever you'd like. I think I might've accidentally left you out a little bit this year, and I apologize. I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I can. You're the best, Teddy."

I cracked a smile. "I know. You'd better hurry. You wouldn't want to get a detention this close to the end of the school year, would you?"

She shook her head and ran out the door, laughing.

Which left me with the mess.

"Scourgify." I said, pointing my wand at the ceiling. The chocolate disappeared, making everything appear clean and sparkling once more. There was nothing there to suggest that we'd just been privy to one of the wildest parties the Room of Requirement had ever seen.

"I see you don't need help after all." Vic was standing in the doorway, her eyes dancing merrily.

"Nope. I have it under control. Did you know that you have some chocolate on your nose?" I walked over to her and gingerly wiped it off with one finger.

She smiled. "Thanks. Do you mind if we talk?" On cue, a red velvet couch appeared in the corner of the room. Surprised, I pulled the door closed and took a seat next to her.

"Sure. So, what do you want to talk about? Is it school? Friends?"

"Not exactly. I want to talk about…your father." She purposefully avoided my eyes, twirling a strand of light blonde hair around her index finger.

Immediately, all the happiness I'd been feeling evaporated into thin air. "What about him?"

"Do you know how he died?"

"Of course I do. He died in the Final Battle-"

"Defending the school and fighting for the side of good. Where were you that day?"

"I was…with Grandma Andromeda."

"Exactly. How could you, a small baby, have prevented his death?"

"I don't know, but I could have done something. There's always something we can do."

"Not always. Teddy, your parents loved you very much, and I know that they were very sad to leave you so soon, but they knew you'd be strong enough to move on. They wouldn't want you to dwell on the past-especially a past you can't remember."

"But I had Dolohov at my mercy. I could have killed him. I could have made him suffer."

"Just like he made you and Dom suffer? Why would you want to sink to his level?"

"Revenge."

"You know that your parents wouldn't have wanted their only son to become a murderer-even for the best of causes. They're so proud of you for what you did-and so am I." Instinctively, I leaned in and we…kissed. My heart was beating loudly, so loudly that I was sure the whole school could hear it. For a moment, everything was pure bliss.

Eventually, I broke up the kiss, though I didn't want to. "You should get going. It's way past curfew."

"I know." She started to walk away, but paused in the middle of the room, biting her lip nervously. "Will you be all right, Teddy? I'm sorry if I upset you or anything-"

"On the contrary, Vic. You really helped. Thank you. And yes, I'll be fine."

She gave me one last smile and left, closing the door softly behind her. We were acting normally to each other. You'd think nothing had changed between us. You'd think that tomorrow morning we'd wake up the same people that we were today.

Which wasn't true, of course.

Everything had changed, in a profound way.

I was seeing stars during my prefect duty that night. I was supposed to be patrolling the corridor outside the library, but I just couldn't focus.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Eddy Perkins asked. He was the prefect who shared duties with me on Friday nights: a tall and lanky Ravenclaw.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"I know what that look means. Who'd you snog?"

"Victoire Weasley."

"I've seen her around. She's quite a looker. Was it your first time?"

"Yeah."

"The best and the worst. You love it, but you also go crazy wanting more."

I nodded. "Had a lot of experience with that yourself, have you?"

"Let's just say I'm a veteran. Your secret is safe with me, Lupin."

"Thanks."

I knew I'd never be the same again.


	27. Rose 2

**Last chapter! Next time, I'll post the epilogue.**

**Also, because of the late update, I have posted another two chapters today. My weekend turned out to be super busy and I didn't have time to update this. **

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Chapter 27-Rose

"Rose, hurry up! We're going to miss the train!"

"Coming!" I shut my suitcase and locked its two latches for the final time for this school year. For once, I was sure I'd had everything-I'd spent two hours the previous night packing, repacking, and generally sifting through the haze of books, notebooks, and other debris that covered the floor of my dormitory.

I took a last glance around the room I'd occupied for the last ten months. Even after all these month of unconsciousness, each tassel on a bed or pane of glass in a window felt familiar. I was glad to be going home, but I was also sad to leave Hogwarts. However, I'd be back in a couple of months.

The last three weeks had been a mad rush of spell work, studying, and tests. I'd understandably been way behind the others in the year since I'd missed so many classes. However, I'd been able to catch up and ace my finals with top marks. Mum and Dad would be proud: I was second in the year, just under…Scorpius Malfoy.

Scorpius…

_No, Rose,_ I told myself sternly. _You're not going to think about Scorpius Malfoy_.

Just then, Roxanne walked in. "Ready, Rose? We were supposed to be in the Great Hall twenty minutes ago. I've been calling you for ages."

I snapped out of my reverie. "Sorry. Let's go."

The Great Hall was crowded with students waiting for a fleet of horseless carriages. There was a mountain of luggage in the middle of the room. It brushed the domed ceiling high overhead, and was only growing as students added trunks and duffel bags. I threw my trunk onto the pile, next to Roxanne's identical one, and went to find the others. Briefly, I glanced at the sky overhead. It was a clear blue.

Some people were hugging or exchanging addresses. A few were even crying. I could see why. These people felt like my new family, and it would be hard not to see them for a while. However, we'd be back in September to start a new school year.

I couldn't wait.

We hurried over to my cousins.

"Are we late?" Roxanne asked, panting.

Fred looked up from where he was playing Exploding Snap with James and Molly. "Almost, but not quite."

"You're all coming to the barbecue at our house tonight, right?" Roxanne asked the group in general. There was an assortment of nods and murmured agreements.

I tried to look for Scorpius, as we'd become friends over the past few weeks and I wanted to say good-bye to him. However, he was nowhere in sight. I did see Professor Dixon watching us from the other side of the room, scribbling notes on a clipboard. Something about her seemed off to me. I still thought that she was responsible for helping Dolohov sneak in, but there was no p_roof. Her alibi was airtight. _

_Save that mystery for next year_, I thought.

Suddenly, Headmistress McGonagall's voice boomed out over the chattering crowd of students and teachers. "First years, please make your way to the carriages. First years only."

Albus, Roxanne and I hurried toward the slightly open front doors, promising to save a compartment on the train for everyone. I still didn't see Scorpius.

_Bye, Hogwarts. I'll miss you_, I thought as our carriage passed through the front gates one last time.

The train was already starting to fill up. We ended up having to choose a compartment all the way in the back of the train. It seemed like we took forever to get going, as Fred, James, and the twins joined us. They were followed by Dom, Vic, and Teddy.

"Where's Scorpius?" I asked Lysander.

He shrugged. "He said he was sitting with some other friends."

I nodded, even though I felt slightly hurt. However, when we started to pull away from the station and I was dealt a hand for Exploding Snap, I started to feel excited again. I would see my parents again. That was something to look forward to, at least.

"I'm hungry." James complained.

"Me too." Fred echoed.

"You're always hungry." Vic chided. "We just got food from the trolley."

"I'm still hungry."

"So am I." Lorcan spoke up. Lysander, Dom, Roxanne, and even Teddy nodded in agreement.

Vic sighed and rolled her eyes, fishing some Sickles out of her pocket. "All right. Who wants to go see what we can get for these."

"Send Roxanne." James piped up.

"No. You go." Roxanne balked.

I shook my head and got to my feet. "I'll go."

"Thanks, Rose. You're a saint." Vic said as she pressed the money into my waiting hand.

"I know." I headed up to the front of the train.

Twenty minutes later, I was on my way back to the compartment. My arms were laden with Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and dozens of cups of Pumpkin Juice-enough sweets to put any kid on a sugar high for a few days.

Just then, a compartment door flew open and slammed into me. I fell to the ground, candies flying in all directions. "Watch it." I complained. I could feel a nasty bruise blooming on my knee.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" a boy cried, extending a hand to help me up. I took it without realizing who it was.

Scorpius.

"Scorpius?"

"Rose! Oh, um…here." He started handing me some of the fallen candies. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." I replied. "Who are you sitting with?"

"A few Slytherins my dad made me sit with. I wish I could sit with your cousins, though." He made a face. "They're a lot more fun."

"I should hope so-especially since I have Fred, James, and the twins. Do you want to walk back with me?"

A range of emotions passed over his face, too quickly for me to interpret. "Sure." he said finally. "I'll take some of that candy for you, if you want."

"That would be great." I handed him about half of the load and we set off.

It seemed like we couldn't stop talking. We talked a lot about our summer plans, what we were looking forward to about the coming school year, and also what we were dreading.

"I wonder if next year will be as…eventful as this year was…" Scorpius mused.

I shrugged. "It probably will be. I'm a Weasley. Adventure has a way of finding Weasleys."

Scorpius laughed. "I don't doubt that."

We'd reached my compartment door. For a while, we stood in awkward silence. We weren't ready to go our separate ways just yet.

"So…I guess this is it." I said after a long pause.

"Yeah. I guess so. Wait-" Scorpius pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it before he handed it back to me. "Here."

Briefly, I read what it said:

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

Malfoy Manor

1128 Rosswell Ln

"It's my address. You know, just in case you want to write or anything." He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Cool. Here." I handed him mine. "Yes. Write if you want to."

He nodded and gave me the rest of the candy. "I guess I'd better get going. Bye, Rose."

"Bye, Scorpius."

He waved once and walked off. I watched until his platinum blonde head disappeared into his compartment. "Bye." I whispered again, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. Then I opened the door to my own compartment so I could feed my rowdy cousins.

I couldn't wait to see what the summer and the next year had in store for the Weasleys and the Potters.

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	28. Epilogue (Dominique)

**Well, this is it….the final chapter in our little story. Thanks for all the positive feedback and for the follows and favorites. You guys are amazing ;)**

**The next book won't be up right away as I have to plan it out and I have other projects on this site that I'm currently working on at the moment. However, I am coming out with a series of one shots; one for each of the next-gen kids and their friends, that will be out soon. It will be called ****Family Ties****.**

**Without further ado, here is the epilogue of ****The Wooden Birds****: **

Epilogue-Dominique

It was good to be home again.

When Vic and I got off the Hogwarts Express, Mum and Dad met us at the station and took us into Muggle London for fish and chips. Dad knows a little place, off of the city's many busy roads, that serves the best food for the lowest price. We all got fish, chips, and chocolate milkshakes. The milkshakes were delicious-smooth and creamy. They were the best thing I'd ever tasted. Vic thought so, too.

After that, we headed back to our house to unpack and get settled in before the barbecue.

I was amazed at how much junk had accumulated in the bottom of my trunk over the course of one year. There was my Ravenclaw scarf with a tea stain on one end, an old textbook that was falling apart at the seams, some marbles, assorted cracked quill pens, and a broken sneak-o-scope that spun in large, looping circles unceasingly. I threw those things out to make room for the things I would need next year, like my robes and wand. Then, I shoved the trunk to the back of my closet so I could forget about it for a while. I wouldn't need it for a few months.

Summer was finally here.

At around five or six o'clock, we went over to Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Fred, and Roxanne's house for the traditional end-of school/beginning-of-summer barbeque.

"Hi Dom. May I take your jacket?" Roxanne asked happily when she met me at the door.

"Thanks." I said as I shrugged out of my light blue raincoat. Roxanne eagerly ran off and deposited it at the top of a growing pile of coats in the pantry.

I love going to Fred and Roxanne's house because there's a little something of everything. There's also extra store merchandise cluttering up tables and counter space-everything you need to satisfy a family of pranksters.

"Dom, come on." Vic said, squeezing my hand. I followed her to the backyard, where the rest of my cousins had already assembled. I shivered happily.

This was going to be fun.

A few hours later, I stumbled back into my bedroom. My head still rang with laughter and I could still smell meat sizzling on a grill. I slumped down on my bed and closed my eyes. Summer stretched out before me like an open book. I was eager to create my own story.

Before I fully grasped what was happening, I had fallen asleep.

In my dream, someone was shaking me so I would wake up. "Dom! Dom, it's me!"

"What is it, Vic?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

"Are you mental? I know it's been a while, but last time I checked I'm not Vic!"

I thought I'd died for a minute. The boy sitting next to me had familiar short blonde hair and dancing blue eyes. He looked just like my little brother, but it was clear to see that he was also very different. He was…glowing slightly, and he seemed worldly. He'd definitely changed over the course of the past year. "_Louis_?"

"Hi. I just wanted to tell you that I'm really proud of you, Dom. Vic, too. Thank you for finding and catching my murderer. You two are the best big sisters ever." He leaned over to hug me, and I had the weird sensation of being plunged into a bucket of ice water. "Can you tell Vic that nothing was her fault? I've always loved her, and I've never blamed her for anything. "

"I think she already knows, somewhere deep inside her heart, but I'll let her know. Can you stay?" I was filled with a fierce longing to hug Louis and never let him go.

He was already starting to fade away and flashed me one more smile, a little sadly. "I have to go now, Dom. I'm always with you, though. I'm always looking after you. Everything is okay. Bye, Dom." He squeezed my hand one last time and faded away altogether, leaving me alone in the dark.

At that point, I woke up. I felt both elated and sad at the same time. I'd seen Louis again, but he'd left too soon. I wanted to go back to sleep again to see if I could reconnect with him, but I knew there was something I had to do first. I'd given Louis my word, and I wasn't about to take it back.

"Vic!"

My older sister awoke with a start. "Dom? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Actually, things are better than great. I saw Louis."

"What? What do you mean?"

"He talked to me, in my dreams. He said to tell you that he loves you and that you're the best big sister ever."

Vic started tearing up. "Louis…" We both started to cry, mourning the loss of a life that ended too soon. Soon, all of her pillows were soaked with tears.

However, these tears weren't just tears of sadness. Although we cried for a little boy who would never grow up, we also cried because that same boy was growing up somewhere, safe and happy. We'd see him again someday. I was sure of it.

_Everything is okay_.

For the first time all year, I believed it.

**Reviews: **

**everythingpotterish: Aww! Thank you! :) I'd be honored if you read my other stories when they come out. **

**Thanks for reading, everyone!**

**-Mocothecat4218**


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